How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria ?
by SatinBeige
Summary: Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist and playboy, can have any girl he wants right? Any girl except Maria.
1. Chapter 1 Maria

_**Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist and playboy, can have any girl he wants right?**_

_**Any girl except Maria.**_

**_(It would be great if you could review. A bit of feed back is always great. I dont mind if its good/bad/ indifferent. A couple of words is fine! Thanks to all the people who left reviews!It means alot!)_**

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'Girls ,I'm really not up for this.' It was about the fifth time I'd said that tonight.

'Come ON Maria, you're not chickening out us now!' said Lilly. She and Poppy grabbed my arms. They were twins, identical. Tall ,blonde, and yes, they were models. I'd only agreed to do this so that they would stop pestering me. I wasn't a party girl, not anymore.

'Guys! I don't wanna ruin you're night,' I said.

Poppy sighed, 'Maria, you used to be more fun. As soon as you get inside...'

'I'm different now,' I protested. I already knew that I was not going to enjoy tonight, at all!

We went into a casino, the type that all the rich kids and playboys hung about in. Naturally Lilly and Poppy had to make an entrance. They swung their hips and flicked their platinum blonde hair as they entered the casino. As they enjoyed the attention, I slipped away, to the bar. I knew I shouldn't be drinking, I had pretty busy day tomorrow, we were way behind schedule, but a little alcohol might make time go a little quicker.

I sat at the bar, watching Poppy and Lilly flirt like there was no tomorrow. I laughed, I would have been more subtle,would have, past tense. I was done with that kind of thing now. Sure, the parties, the clubbing, the flirting had been fun, but I had my career now, and that's what I wanted to spend my time on.

The twins turned around. They were looking for me. They must have just realised that I wasn't with them. Poppy spotted me and pointed me out to Lilly. They shook their heads as they made their way over to me. I sighed, I should have known they were going to make this difficult for me.

'Ria, it's not that you don't look gorgeous, but no guy is gonna notice you if you just sit at the bar,' said Lilly.

'I don't want to be noticed,' I took a sip from my glass.

'I thought you weren't gunna drink tonight,' said Poppy.

'Yeah, well desperate times call for desperate measures!'

'You know, you could at least make an effort Ria,' said Lilly. I think she was starting to get irritated with me now. I turned away and continued to sip my drink. I heard the twins sigh simultaneously.

'Fine suit yourself,' I heard Lilly say.

'I might just do that,' I muttured to myself.

I finished off my Bacardi Breezer and was just ordering another one. That's when I met Tony Stark.


	2. Chapter 2 Tony

She was hot. No that's not the right word. She was sexy. The second she walked into the casino I knew it was her I wanted tonight, and I'm Tony Stark so what I want is what I get, especially when it comes to ladies.

I was playing poker when she walked in to the casino. She was with two cute blondes, twins, I'd seen them around before, but she was new. The twins made an entrance, they were hot and didn't they just know it. They headed over to another table and flirted with a couple of guys, I'd take them home one night, they looked like fun, but tonight I wanted their friend. She was sitting at the bar, alone,'Well this should be easy,' I thought to myself. I played for a little longer before excusing myself from the game. She was still at the bar.

'Can I have another pineapple Bacardi Breezer ?' she was saying to the bartender. Even her voice was sexy. Was their anything wrong with this lady?

'Let me buy that ,'I said taking out my wallet.

She looked at me. This is the part where most girls would be like 'Oh my God! You're Tony Stark!' But not her.

'That's really not necassary,' she said.

'No I want to,' I insisted, handing the money over to the bartender.

She shrugged,'Ok then, thanks I guess.' Then she just walked off.

What the hell was up with that? 'Ok then, thanks I guess.' Was that it?

I followed her. She turned around.

'Sorry,' I said ,'I don't think I caught your name.'

She smiled,she had a gorgeous smile,'Probably because I didn't tell you,'she said.

'Well,are you going to?' I asked.

'No,' she replied and started to walk off again.

I shook my head. This had never happened to me before. She was sitting down now. I grabbed a chair and sat beside her. She sighed.

'What?' she asked, sounding mildly frustrated.

'Do you know who I am?' I asked.

'Of course, ' she replied looking at me as though it was a stupid question to ask. Maybe it was, but I couldn't think of any other reason why she was treating me like this,'You're Tony Stark,' she said 'You're the CEO of Stark industries,'

I opened my mouth to say something.

'I'm not done yet ' she said, she looked angry,' you also gamble excessively, drink excessively and sleep with excessive amounts of women.

Then she walked off again, I didn't follow her.I didn't really understand. I'd never slept with her before, I'd never even met her before, I would have remembered a girl like her, so what was her problem. Was she trying to play hard to get?

I stood up and walked back over to the game.Rhodey was smiling.

'So the great Tony Stark got knocked back,' he said.

'I didn't get knocked back,' I protested ,'She's in love with me, she just doesn't know it yet.'

'Sure!' Rhodey laughed.

'Somebody go get me a drink,' I said,'Something strong.' I was going to have that lady. Like I said I'm Tony Stark ,what I want is what I get, and what I want is her.


	3. Chapter 3 Maria

-1Tony Stark! Tony frickin' Stark! The arrogant, sex obsessed, man whore. God, don't you just hate him?

So I let him buy me a drink. He insisted OK? I thought if I walked away it would be pretty clear that I wasn't interested, but no, he didn't take the hint. He was following me so I turned round.

'Sorry,' he said ,'I don't think I caught your name.'

'Probably because I didn't tell you,' I said , and I wasn't planning to either.

'Well, are you going to?' he asked, clearly expecting me to.

'No,' I replied and started to walk off again. He must have got it by now, but guys like Tony Stark think that every girl will fall for them immediately so I wasn't surprised when he sat down beside me.

'What?' I asked, he was seriously starting to irritate me now.

'Do you know who I am?' he asked.

'Of course, ' I replied. Did he think I was an idiot, or was he just pointing it out to 'impress' me, because that really wasn't going to work, 'you're Tony Stark,' I said 'You're the CEO of Stark industries,'

He opened his mouth to say something, but I wanted him to know exactly what I thought about him. I was not going to be another girl he could just sleep with one night and forget about the next morning.

'I'm not done yet ' I said, 'you also gamble excessively, drink excessively and sleep with excessive amounts of women.' Then I got up and went to another table. He didn't follow me again, thank God. He went back to one of his stupid gambling games. I guess not many girls had said that to him before, from the look on his face.

I didn't care if he was the brains of U.S.A, I didn't care if he was a billionaire, I didn't care that he was incredibly good looking. I didn't want Tony Stark anywhere near me, tonight, or any other night.

I finished off my drink and went to find the twins. They were all over some guy. Poppy smiled at me as I approached.

'This is Pablo,' said Poppy.

'Hi,' I said.

'Ciao!' replied Pablo.

'He's Italian,' explained Lilly.

They could see that I wasn't really interested.

'One second Pablo,' said Lilly, running her hand down his chest.

'We'll be back really soon,' said Poppy. She gave him a peck on the lips before walking over.

'Guys, I've already had two drinks, and if I stay here any longer I'm in danger of having another one,' I explained.

'Lighten up a bit, Ria, come on you deserve a night out,' said Poppy.

'Don't tell me to lighten up! I have work tomorrow, unlike most people here. I'm already two weeks behind schedule…'

'Ok! Ok!' said Lilly.

'It's not OK!' I protested. And guess who picks this moment to chirp in.

'Ladies, is everything OK?' I was coming to despise that voice, and very rapidly. Lilly and Poppy turned around. I didn't need to. It was Tony Stark. Tony frickin' Stark.

'Can I buy you two beautiful blondes a drink?' he asked, completely ignoring me. Lilly and Poppy were stunned.

'Oh my God, You're Tony Stark!' exclaimed Lilly. I stood there looking unimpressed.

'Yep,' replied Tony. He was just loving this. 'So how about a drink?'

'How could we refuse?' said Poppy.

'I would ask you're friend, but she's a little up tight,' he said.

I chose this moment to leave. God he is so rude. I hate him. I hate Tony Stark.


	4. Chapter 4 Tony

-1Well that didn't work!

I finished the game of poker and thought 'Ok! Now I'm going to go find that girl.' She was with her friends again, looking a little stressed out. God she looked sexy when she was irritated. I thought about how to approach her. Being nice hadn't worked, so maybe I'd get better results if I treated her nasty.

'Ladies, is everything OK?' I said. The two blondes turned around to look at me. Their friend seemed to already know it was me. She turned around more slowly, she was looking really irritated now, and I loved it.

'Can I buy you two beautiful blondes a drink?' I asked, pretending not to notice their friend . The blonde girls were stunned.

'Oh my God, You're Tony Stark!' said one of them. I was expecting that .Their friend stood there looking at me, clearly unimpressed.

'Yep,' I replied. God she looked so hot, but she still hadn't said a word to me. 'So how about a drink?' I asked.

'How could we refuse?' said the other blonde girl. I decided to provoke their friend a little further. I didn't care what she said, I just wanted her to speak, at least I'd have a starting block then.

'I would ask you're friend, but she's a little up tight,' I said. That really irritated her. She didn't say anything she just stormed out. Damn! That wasn't supposed to happen, but I couldn't go after her now, I had two cute blondes to buy drinks for, and besides I doubted she was going to be to willing to talk to me now, but I still wanted her. 'Another night' I promised myself.

'Sorry! She's a little stressed tonight!' said one of the blondes.

'It's just this directing job she's got. She's totally focused on that at the moment,' explained the other.

'So she's a director,' I thought to myself.

I got the blonde girls' drinks. They were cute. One was called Lilly and the other Poppy, I couldn't tell the difference between them, but that was understandable seeing as they were identical twins.

I woke up the next morning with a cute blonde girl laying either side of me. I felt satisfied for a few minutes before remembering about their friend.

I got up and went downstairs.

'You brought back two last night,' it was Pepper.

'Morning Pepper,' I said. I didn't understand why she told me that. It's not exactly like I didn't know, I woke up next to them after all. 'Their names are Lilly and Poppy ,' I said 'and they're identical twins.'

'Would you like me to get a car ready to take them home, when they get up,' asked Pepper. I thought about this for a moment. Normally I would have said yes, but I still wanted Lilly and Poppy's friend. I needed to be able to contact her somehow.

'No,' I said. I want to talk them,' I replied. Pepper looked surprised.

'Are you sure about that?'

'Absolutely,' I said, 'call me when they're up.' I headed down to the garage.

'Mr Stark,' said Pepper.

'Uh huh.'

'Should I bring coffee down?'

I thought for a little while. 'No,' I decided, 'I'm going to go for a spin.'

I went into the garage . I was still feeling annoyed about that girl. Maybe a little flight would make me feel better. I felt better just putting on the Iron Man costume.

I wouldn't be able to stay out for too long if I didn't want to be harassed by the military flight squad. As if on queue Pepper called.

'Mr Stark,' she said.

'Yes Pepper.'

'Your… visitors are up.'

I laughed, 'visitors', she had to think about that one.

'I don't understand, what you find so funny Mr. Stark, have you changed you're mind about wanting to see them?'

'No, I'll be there in two minutes ,Pepper.'

She put the phone down.

I was back in less than two.

I took off the suit and went upstairs. Pepper was waiting with the girls.

'Morning ladies,' I said, taking the cup that Pepper was holding out for me. I took a sip of the coffee.

'Mmm that's nice Pepper. Which one's that?' I asked

'The one from Spain,' she replied.

'Order some more of it. It's nice. You should try it.'

'I have, Mr. Stark.'

I turned to look at the twins, 'I was just wondering if I could have your numbers ladies'.'

I saw Pepper raise an eyebrow.

'Sure,' they said simultaneously.

'If you just pass me one of your phones I'll just get your numbers.' I pulled out my phone. Lilly handed me hers, it wasn't the twins numbers that I wanted, it was their friend's. It was only then that I realised that I didn't know her name. I pretended to be looking for their numbers.

'You know your friend last night, God I can't remember her name.'

'Ria' said Lilly.

'As in Maria,' I said, but it was more of a question. They nodded. I searched her name in the phone book, luckily there was only one Maria. Maria Edwards her name was. I typed her number into my phone.

'Well say 'Hi' to Maria from me. You can apologise for my rudeness as well if you like,' I said, handing Lilly back her phone. She smiled.

'I've got to go work now,' I said. 'Pepper will organise for you to be taken home.'

'See you Tony' said Lilly, pressing her lips against mine. Poppy did the same. Pepper looked disgusted.

I laughed. 'See you girls,' I said. I went down to the garage. It was 10.15 and I had Maria Edward's number on my phone. All I had to do now was call her. Well, you know what they say, there's no time like the present.


	5. Chapter 5 Maria

I woke up with a hangover !Great! I'm two weeks behind schedule and I've got a hangover. It's not even like I had a good time last night, no thanks to Tony Stark.I guess that's what you get for drinking yourself to sleep! Today was not going to be a good day.

7.30? Crap, I must have slept through the alarm. I got up, showered and dressed and left my appartment. I didn't have enough time to do my make-up or get anything to eat. I'd grab a coffee at work. Actually the last time I'd had a coffee from the machines at work I nearly threw up, so maybe I'd pass on that.

The sight of my red Mazda mx-5 lifted my spirits slightly. I'd saved years for that car. It was a sunny day, so I put the roof down; it's not like the wind would mess up my hair, I hadn't combed it, I didn't have time.

'Ok guys, let's go through that scene again !' It was the sixth time we'd done this scene this morning. 'And action!' That's what you get when you hire second rate actors I suppose. Someone missed their cue. 'Come on guys!' I said, 'You must know this scene by now! We haven't got time for this!' It seemed I wasn't the only one who was tired this morning. 'Ok guys, let's take a break. We're gonna start shooting again in twenty.'

I took a look at some of the tapes, hopefully we could take some parts from different tapes so we wouldn't have to shoot that scene again.

'Hey Maria,' It was Marcus, one of my camera crew. He was a sweet guy, but totally not my type.

'Hi Marcus,' I said.

'Hey, are you OK? You look kinda...'

'Rough?' I suggested

'Tired.'

'I look a mess!'

'You look gorgeous Maria, you always do.'

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence.

'Can I get you anything?' he asked me. I knew he liked me, I mean really liked me, and I shouldn't have taken advantage, but I was in desperate need of caffine.

'You couldn't just pop to Costas and get me coffee? It's just the stuff here tastes like crap.'

'Sure,' he said smiling.I felt really bad for asking him.

'OK people! Break over!' I felt a little more optimistic with a coffee in my hand, one that was actually drinkable. I'd have to make sure I paid Marcus back for that.'Come on people! Let's go!'

I decided to shoot the next scene. We had enough tapes of the last scene and besides there wasn't enough time to keep going over the same thing. That's when my phone rang. 'Why didn't I switch this damn thing off?' I said to myself. I looked at my phone, it wasn't a recognised number.

'Sorry, I've got to get this,' I said, ' it might be the producers.' They'd been harrassing me the last couple of days.

'Hello, I'm sorry I don't know who this is but I...'

'Hello Maria!' I nearly dropped my phone. It was him. Tony Stark. What the hell? How?

'I'm busy right now,' I said and hung up and switched off my phone.

'Who was that?' asked Marcus.

'Oh, just some son of a ...' I stopped myself, 'idiot. Wrong number I think.' I took a deep breath to calm myself down.'Ok people! Let's shoot.'


	6. Chapter 6 Tony

'Hello, I'm sorry I don't know who this is but I...'

'Hello Maria!' She didn't say anything for a while.

'I'm busy right now,'

'Well maybe you and me...' She'd already put the phone down. 'Fine, hang up on me then.'

Pepper was waiting to talk to me.

'Can you believe that? She just hung up on me.'

Pepper smiled. 'Maria?' she asked.

I looked at her. 'How did you...'

'You got her number from Lilly's phone,' she said 'I can usually tell when you're up to something Mr. Stark.'

'Is that for me?' I asked taking the cup of coffee from her hand.

'Mr. Stark, you have an interview set for…'

'Cancel it.'

'And tonight you've got…'

'I'm not going.'

Pepper looked at me for a little while, smiling.

'What?' I asked.

'Nothing,' she said 'It's just, I think that'll be the first party that you haven't gone to out of choice'.

'Party? What party?' I asked.

'The one you just said you're not going to.' I thought about this for a second; alot of drinks and alot of ladies, yeah, I was going. Pepper took one look at my face.

'I knew you couldn't resist,' she said, making her way back upstairs.

I tried calling Maria a couple more times but she'd switched off her phone. Come on, I wasn't that bad was I ? She could at least have a conversation with me.

I'd never had to chase after a girl before, and I wasn't really sure what I should do next. She wasn't answering my calls and I doubted she'd be back at the casino anytime soon. I guess I'd just have to give her a bit of time, problem is I didn't want to wait. Well ,there would be other girls at the party, probably none of them would be as sexy as her but alot of them would be more willing to spend the night with me.

I couldn't concentrate on working right now. My mind was stuck on other things; Maria.

I called Pepper over the intercom.

'Yes Mr. Stark.'

'Can you uncancel that interview.'

She sighed 'Mr. Stark, you can't just...'

'Pepper can you or can't you?' I didn't want a lecture on reliabilty right now.

'I'll do my best,' she said.

'OK. Well if you do manage to uncancel it can you get my suit ready.'

'Yes Mr. Stark'

'Thanks Pepper.'

I sat at my desk. I wondered how many guys Maria had slept with. Was she a virgin? That hadn't crossed my mind before. That would complicate things.

'Mr Stark,' Pepper was calling me over the intercom. I broke from my thoughts.

'Yes Pepper.'

'I just rearranged the interview for this afternoon.'

'Ok! Thanks Pepper.'

I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get much work done today. This thing with Maria was bugging me more than I expected.


	7. Chapter 7 Maria

How the hell did he get my number and my name? That's what I wanted to know. I switched my phone back on. Three missed calls. I looked back at my call register, they were all from Tony. I sighed, this guy didn't know when to quit.

I bet he got my number off Lilly and Poppy. I'd call them later, if I had time.

Crap! I had that party tonight. I really didn't feel like going, but it would be a chance to network, and networking is everything when you're a film director. I didn't want to go on my own, but who could I go with? Well, I guess there was Marcus. I picked up my phone and dialed his number. He picked up almost immediately.

'Maria! Hi!'

'Hi,' I said 'Um, are you busy tonight?'

'Well...er...' That was a yes.

'Don't worry about it.' I shouldn't have asked him anyway, I was just using him again.

'You know, it's nothing important. If you need me to be free tonight then I'm free.'

'It's just this stupid party I have to go to,'

'And you want me to come with you?'

'Well... yeah.' I really wasn't trying to lead him on.

'What's the dress code?'

'A suit will be fine, I'll come round and pick you up at 9' I said.

'No, I'll pick you up; girls always take longer getting ready for these things.'

I smiled 'Ok.'

'See you then!'

'Bye Marcus.'

I felt kinda bad. I was giving Marcus the wrong idea. I had to stop using him, it was wrong!

I didn't even bother looking in my wardrobe. I already knew I had nothing to wear. Finding a dress shouldn't take too long. There was a little boutique not far away, which I used to go to a lot. I'd be able to find something there. I grabbed my keys and bag and headed out.

'Long time no see!' It was Georgie. She was the owner of the boutique, 'How's my favorite customer?'

I laughed 'You're favorite customer? I haven't been here in months.'

'I meant my favorite customer to find an outfit for; anyway what can I do for you?'

'I need a dress.'

Georgie looked excited 'Ooo! What's the occasion?'

'Just a party. I need something kind of formal.'

'Oh my gosh! I have sooo many dresses for you try on! Go wait in the changing room, I'll bring some through.'

She came through with an armful of dresses. I looked through them.

'Georgie, these are a little... over the top,' I said holding up a sequined blue dress.

'Trust me Maria, you can pull anything off.'

I sighed and took a couple of the less extravagant dresses to try on.

'You look gorgeous,' said Georgie as I modeled the last dress. I looked at myself in the mirror.

'I dunno Georgie, I was hoping for something a little less...'

Georgie jumped up,'Oh my gosh I have the perfect dress for you!'

She came back in holding a strapless red cocktail dress. It looked a little plain.

'Trust me; it'll look perfect on you.'

I tried on the dress and looked at myself in the mirror holding my hair away from my face. She was right, this dress was perfect.

'God! You look amazing!'

I smiled. 'This is the one.'

Georgie looked satisfied. 'Told you so.'

It was 5 to 9 when the doorbell rang. I looked at myself at in the mirror before answering the door.

'Hey Marcus!' He just stared at me for a little while. This was going to be awkward.

'Too over the top?' I asked.

'No you look… amazing!' I grabbed my bag.

'Shall we go now?' I suggested. I didn't want anymore awkward moments.

'Yeah! OK!'

I felt kinda nervous when we first got there, which was ridiculous. I'd been to these kinds of parties so many times before. It didn't take me long to get into the swing of things though.

'Do you do this a lot then?' asked Marcus.

'Huh?'

'It's just you seem to know everyone.'

'Well, not really, I mean, I know them but I don't _know_ them. You know, friends of friends, friends of acquaintances, that kinda thing.' I looked at Marcus. He wasn't really listening.

'Sorry, am I babbling?' I asked.

'No! It's not you Maria. Sorry, I was listening it's just, well, Tony Stark just walked in.'

No way!

'You're kidding right?'

Marcus shook his head. I took a deep breath and turned around. Sure enough there was Tony Stark. This couldn't be happening. It was so unfair. It seemed everywhere I turned he was there. I really didn't want to have to speak to him.

'Marcus do you wanna dance?'

'Well…uh, ok.' I took his hand and pulled him into the middle of dance floor, where Tony wouldn't be able to see me. I closed my eyes praying that Tony wouldn't come over. Here I was, using Marcus again. I was just going to end up disappointing him. He didn't deserve this; he was such a nice guy.


	8. Chapter 8 Tony

I was still feeling a bit low when I first got to the party, until I saw Maria. She looked even sexier than she did the other night, which I didn't think was possible. She was wearing a cute red cocktail dress which really showed off her body and God, she had such a nice body.

She was with another guy. I saw her leading him onto the dance floor. That was annoying, but it wasn't going to stop me. Maria was dancing with the guy in the middle of the dance floor. She was easily the sexiest girl on the dance floor, at the party and that I'd ever met. I tapped her partner on the shoulder.

'Do you mind if I borrow Maria?' I asked. He looked surprised.

'Sure,' he answered.

Maria seemed reluctant to let go of him, but eventually she let him go. I slipped my arm around her waist and took her hand in mine. I loved being this close to her, but she felt uncomfortable .I could feel her tensing.

'I hope your boyfriend doesn't get too jealous,' I said.

'His name is Marcus, and he's not my boyfriend.' I smiled. Good! I looked down at her, but she wouldn't look at me.

'How did you get my number?' she asked after a while. I didn't say anything. 'Lilly and Poppy told you didn't they?'

'Not exactly,' I replied.

'You slept with them didn't you?' She waited for a response, but I didn't have anything to say.' You're unbelievable.'

I felt her pulling away. I pulled her closer to me and held her more tightly. God, she smelt so good.

'I didn't think you'd care,' I said.

'I don't care, why would I care?'

'I don't know. Maybe...' I laughed,' maybe you're jealous.'

She turned her head away from me,' I'm not jealous'. She was jealous.

'Why don't you just drop the 'hard to get' act and give into temptation?' I said very softly to her.

'It's called self respect,' she replied.

'But you are tempted?'

'Not at all.' She was blushing. I laughed.

'Really? You're blushing like a virgin.' I was hoping to wind her up. I loved it when she was irritated. She didn't say anything.

No! She couldn't be. The thought had crossed my mind early, but I hadn't seriously considered it.

Crap, I was hitting on a virgin. No wonder she kept pushing me away. I sighed and loosened my grip on her. This wasn't good. She pulled away and I let her go.

She was the sexiest girl I'd ever met, the girl I wanted the most and she was a virgin. How the hell did this happen?

Did I still want her? Yes. Was I going to get her? I really wasn't sure. But I sure as hell wasn't going to give up now.


	9. Chapter 9 Maria

**_Hi guys. Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I wasn't allowed on the computer for any significant amounts of time recently, so it's taken me longer than usual to write. The last chapter was really short, sorry about that. This one's a bit longer._**

**_Any way hope you enjoy. I might be a bit slow with the next chapter(sorry!) Because(believe it or not) I've got an audition for the X Factor soon. Crazy I know! But don't worry, I'll try and write as much as I can. _**

**_Please continue to read and review. I love getting all your comments, and if you are hoping for a reply then let me know, and I'll do my best!_**

* * *

'Do you mind if I borrow Maria?' It was Tony Stark.

No, you cannot 'borrow' me, I thought angrily. I am not an object to be 'borrowed' and besides you should be asking _me,_ not Marcus. I knew exactly why he didn't ask me. He knew too well what my answer would be.

No!

Marcus, ever the gentleman, simply replied 'Sure!' Not what I wanted to hear. I held Marcus for as long as I could but eventually I had to let him go. Before I could do anything else Tony had his arm around my waist and was taking hold of my hand. So that was that. I was forced into dancing with Tony Stark. I tensed when he touched me.

'I hope your boyfriend doesn't get too jealous,' he said.

'His name is Marcus, and he's not my boyfriend'' I replied without thinking. If I had thought about it I probably would have said that Marcus was my boyfriend. That way Tony might have laid off. Unlikely though, he obviously thought Marcus was my boyfriend before, but it didn't stop him asking Marcus if he could 'borrow' me.

I concentrated on maintaining the few centimeters of space between us.

'How did you get my number?'' I asked after a while. He didn't say anything, but that was fine. I already had a pretty good idea how. 'Lilly and Poppy told you didn't they?'

'Not exactly,' he answered. Well that was near enough yes, and exactly what I expected. Probably not the only thing he got from them.

'You slept with them didn't you?' I didn't really want to know the answer. The thought of Tony sleeping with two of my best friends made me, well, angry. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. What did I tell you? Arrogant, sex obsessed, man whore. 'You're unbelievable.'

I pulled away from him hoping he'd let me go. Big mistake! He pulled me closer, making the centimeters between us turn into millimeters, if that. I was so angry, _so_ angry!

'Calm down Maria,' said the voice in my head. 'You can't afford to do anything stupid here. Just breathe.'

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to control the anger that was taking over me. I could smell him; I was that close, so close I could actually smell him. I instinctively tried to push myself away. He held me more tightly. I couldn't help but breathe his scent. What surprised me most is that I liked it. It calmed me a little.

'I didn't think you'd care,' he said.

'I don't care, why would I care?'

'I don't know. Maybe... maybe you're jealous.'

'I'm not jealous,' I said, a little too quickly.

'Why don't you just drop the 'hard to get' act and give into temptation?' He said softly to me. He was close. Way too close.

'It's called self respect.'

'But you are tempted?'

'Not at all.' Not all of me seemed to agree and I felt my cheeks burning. Of all the times, why now? Tony was laughing.

'Really? You're blushing like a virgin.'

Why the hell did he say that? Was it that obvious, or was I just being paranoid? Oh God.

I felt him loosen his grip on me and pulled away. This time he let me go. I should have gone and found Marcus. It wasn't fair to drag him to a party and then basically just abandon him, but instead I grabbed a drink and went outside. I had no idea what the drink was, but I hoped it was strong.

I was glad to find myself alone outside. I drank the drink quite quickly and let the breeze cool my burning cheeks. I smiled to myself as I looked out over the city and remembered what my life used to be like. I used to have to deal with guys like Tony all the time; guys who wanted to sleep with me. Tony was different though, in so many ways. He was rich/ a national celebrity/one of cleverest men in the U.S. etc, etc, and so on, and so forth, but it wasn't just that. There was something else about him. I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

And no prizes for guessing who decided to join me, just as this was running through my head.

'Maria, about before, I, uh…I didn't know, I mean… I didn't mean to embarrass you.'

I didn't say anything, just nodded and continued to look out across the city. I was kinda shocked. I wasn't expecting an apology, not a serious one anyway. He wasn't being the arrogant, rich guy now. Neither of us said anything for a while. I could feel him looking at me.

'Why don't you answer my calls?' he asked. I looked at him. I wanted to be angry at him, but I couldn't be. I didn't know what to say.

'I wanted to talk to you,' he said. I felt really bad.

'I, well, I've been busy.' What the hell I thought I hated this guy about 15 minutes ago, now I felt like I owed him an apology. I couldn't understand.

'I'm gonna go find Marcus now,' I said. This was just too weird. I turned to go back in doors. Tony grabbed my arm.

'Maria, promise me something,' I turned to look at him and couldn't help but meet his gaze for a few seconds. I can't really explain, but something in his eyes overwhelmed me. I broke eye contact and then realized that I'd stopped breathing.

'What?' I asked.

'Answer my calls.'

'Ok'

'No, promise me.' I was about to go through the whole 'being busy' thing but stupidly I looked into his eyes again. There was something there, in his eyes, something so intense. Something which made me unable to refuse.

'I promise,' I said. He let go of my arm and I went inside.

I shook my head as I looked for Marcus, trying to understand what had just happened.

It was weird! Crazy! Insane! And I was so bloody confused!


	10. Chapter 10 Tony

_**I know. I took forever. Thing is, I'm semi banned off the computer by my mum. **_

_**Thanks to my brother Jordan, and my friends Amy and Steph (pen name: todrownandburn) for telling me their ideas (although I didn't use any of them.)**_

_**I waited 12 hours at the 02 arena and I didn't even get through to the X Factor. I'm glad I went though, I got some pretty good ideas for this story. Please carry on reading and reviewing. And if you already have , well you're just plain awesome.**_

_**Now where was I? Ah yes, Tony...**_

* * *

I woke up drenched in sweat.

'Jarvis, Time?'

'02.25 am, sir.'

I climbed out of bed and stumbled down to the garage, my heart still racing. I sat down at the desk and tapped the source of light coming from my chest, the thing keeping me alive, the arc reactor. Then I looked at the costume. Another thing which I would have been dead without.

I was so tired, but too scared to close my eyes, afraid of what I might see. I slowly made my way over to the fridge in the corner of the garage, on auto pilot. I grabbed a bottle of god knows what, and drank.

'Are you sure that drinking is sensible, considering you have a press conference tomorrow?' It was Jarvis.

'What the hell else can I do?' I said, slurring my words slightly. I knew that I shouldn't be drinking, and that Pepper would kill me tomorrow, but I didn't care.This was one of the reasons I liked bringing girls home. I didn't seem to have the nightmares when I wasn't alone. Well really it was just the one nightmare, being back in that Afghan hell-hole. I didn't have to imagine the 'what ifs', the reality was bad enough. All too quickly the bottle was empty.

'Jarvis. Time?'

'02.59 am, sir.'

Pepper would get here at seven. I couldn't stand another 4 hours.I stumbled over to the fridge to get something else to drink. I took a swig from the bottle and wanted to throw up, I'd already drunk way to much, but I carried on drinking anyway.

'Jarvis.Time?'

'03.03, sir'

3 hours 57 minutes.

'Would it be easier if I gave you a time check every 5 minutes sir?' asked Jarvis.

'No' I replied. That would make time drag even more. I resisted asking Jarvis for the time again. I wanted to throw up, but I just kept drinking.

'Time?' I asked after finishing the second bottle.

'03.34, sir'

3 hours 26 minutes. I was drinking too fast, or rather time was going too slow. It was a stupid idea to drink, when I wanted to stay awake.

'And how exactly did you think alcohol was going to help?' I could imagine Pepper asking me, when she got here. I wouldn't have any reply, because I didn't think about it, I just did it. Then she'd try and make me go see a shrink or something.Of course, I'd refuse to.

My eyes wanted to close, but I wouldn't let them. I swore at nobody in particular before going upstairs.

I don't know how I managed to get upstairs, never mind how I managed to make coffee. I 'm surprised I could even stand having drunk that much. I took a sip of the coffee and almost immediately threw up. I laughed, all I could smell was the alcohol. I was wide awake now, well, for the time being at least.

'Caffeine,' I said 'Always does the trick.'

'Sir, your phone is ringing.'

I frowned.'Who's calling?'

'Maria Edwards'

Maria Edwards?

'I'm drunk,' I said.

'Yes,' was Jarvis' reply, 'Shall I hold the call sir?'

'No. Put her through.'


	11. Chapter 11 Maria

I woke up in a cold sweat for the third time that evening.

I looked at the clock by the side of my bed. 02.57 am. Last time I woke up it had been nearly one, and I remembered hearing a time check for quarter to two on the radio, so I must of drifted off some time after that. I can't have been asleep much more than an hour.

I couldn't get rid of the image in my head. He was just lying there in the middle of the desert, dying.

I cursed myself for searching his name on Google, and then I cursed him for making me curious. Why did he have to look at me like that?

He could have _died_. And those guys, they'd still be after him. Hunting him down. They could strike at any time.Maybe in a month, maybe tomorrow, even right now. I was genuinely worried, more than worried. Terrified!

'Maria, don't be stupid. He's a multi millionaire. He'll have body guards, security systems that even a fly couldn't get through,' said the voice in my head. I knew it was right but I was still terrified though.

'I can't stay up all night worrying about this,' I thought to myself. Absentmindedly I picked up my cell phone. Who could I call at this time?

I scrolled through my contacts. Lilly. Lilly and Poppy. They'd be awake now. They always seemed to be awake. I pressed the call button on my phone. It rang twice before Lilly picked up.

'Hey girl!What are you doing up at this time?' said Lilly.

'So you're allowed to be up and I'm not?' I joked.

_'I_ haven't got work tomorrow_,' _she explained.

'I can't sleep,' I said, answering her question. 'And I just...I guess I just wanted someone to talk to, but if you're busy...'

She laughed 'Poppy's doing most of the work.'

'I need a hand with this!' I heard Poppy shout.

'One second, let me just put this on speaker phone' Lilly called back. 'OK done.'

'Who is it?' asked Poppy.

'Ria'

'Hi Ria!'

'Hi Poppy,' I replied, 'What are you guys doing?'

'We're decorating,'

'No. I'm decorating, you're just watching me' said Poppy.

'I'm supervising'

'Oh right,' said Poppy sarcastically 'Do you mind if _I_ supervise for a while?'

'On come _on_. I got my nails done this morning. You know I'd never make you do this if you'd just spent 200 dollars on a manicure'

I shook my head. 200? On a manicure?

'You're decorating?' I asked.

'Uh huh'

'I mean, _you're _decorating?'

'Yeah, y'know, like DIY, ' said Poppy. Lilly and Poppy and DIY ? An unlikely mix, I'd always thought...

'And you're doing this at 3 in the morning because...?'

'What's wrong with decorating at 3 in the morning?' asked Lilly.

'Nothing,I guess,' I replied, laughing.

'Lilly, what do I do with this?'

'I dunno. What is it? Like paint or something?'

'Um, I dunno. It says base coat'

I laughed to myself, listening to their conversation.

'It's probably not important. I mean, I've never heard of it.'

I laughed again.

'What?' asked Lilly.

'Nothing,' I replied, 'But maybe next time you feel like doing any DIY you should get someone to help you.'

'It's not hard Maria, trust me.'

I thought about pointing out that I'd decorated my whole apartment by myself, but instead I simply replied 'OK'.

'Anyway what's up?' Lilly asked.

'Huh?'

'You said you couldn't sleep.' The image of Tony flashed into my mind and my heart started beating faster again.

'Oh. That.'

'This guy told me once, that if you're stressed it can like stop you from sleeping. Like the tension or something,' said Poppy.

'Did that doctor guy tell you that?' asked Lilly.

'Yeah. He was like totally hot wasn't he?'

'Oh my God. Totally. Shame he was married.'

'He was married? Ah, that explains.'

Their conversation faded into the background as I tried to shake the image of Tony out of my minds eye.

'Maria? Maria, you still there?'

'Huh? Yeah!' I knew I sounded kind of panicky. I don't know why I was worried. Tony was fine. I'd seen him earlier at the party, but that had been hours ago.

'Are you OK?' asked the twins simultaneously.

'It's just this image, this dream...' Dream? It was a nightmare.

'Yeah, carry on,' said Lilly.

'I keep seeing Tony...'

Poppy cut me off. 'Tony Stark?' she asked

'Yeah.'

'How many dreams have _you_ had about Tony?' Poppy asked Lilly.

'Like a million,' replied Lilly 'But I'll tell you something, none of them compare to the real thing,'

I shook my head. I'd forgotten for a moment that they'd slept with him. 'OK ,I don't want to know' I said. But they carried on anyway.

'He is like, so good in bed,' said Poppy.

'_So_ good,there were a few seconds when I actually thought I had died and gone to heaven.'

'Yeah,tell me about it.'

'Please! Don't!' I said. Why did I think it was a good idea to call Lilly and Poppy?

'I don't_ dream_ about Tony Stark OK?' I said, which wasn't entirely true. 'I have _nightmares _about him. I close my eyes and I see him dying, alone in a desert.And it bloody terrifies me...' I trailed off. I was shaking. What if I was having this nightmare for a reason ? What if he wasn't OK?

Neither of the twins said anything for a little while.

'I'm worried about him,' I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else.

'I don't get it. What are you worried about?' asked Lilly.

'I...I don't know,' I'm just being an idiot I added silently.'I know, it's stupid, but it's stopping me from sleeping.'

'Well if you're worried about him, and that's whats keeping you awake, you could just call him,' suggested Poppy. 'I think Lilly has his number.'

'That's a point,' I said. 'Tony somehow managed to get my number.'

'Well _I _didn't give to him,' said Lilly. 'Did you?' she asked her twin.

'No,' replied Poppy. They weren't lying. I could tell by the way they said it.

'Well, never mind. I know you probably think I'm totally crazy now but thanks for listening.'

'It's cool Ria,' said Lilly.

'Try and get some sleep, yeah?' said Poppy.

'OK' I said, knowing full well that I wouldn't. 'Bye'

'Bye,' they said in unison.It got on some peoples nerves, but I was used to it. I put the phone down and looked at the time. 03.07. Poppy was right, I really should try to get some sleep. I heated up a mug of milk. It's supposed to help you sleep. I hated milk. It reminded me of my mother. She used to force me and my sisters to drink it, when she wanted us to go to sleep. It was only later on that I found out that she put a significant amount of whiskey in the milk. And people wondered why I loved alcohol so much... I drank my milk _without_ whiskey, as slowly as I could, meaning I had to heat it up twice (It's worse luke warm, trust me). I washed up the mug, even though I own a fully functional dishwasher, and finally made my way back to my bedroom.

I lay down and looked at the clock.

03.27

I rolled over and then rolled back again so I could see the clock.

03.30.

03.33.

03.35.

I didn't want to close my eyes.

03.36.

03.37.

03.38

I sat up. 'I can't do this,' I thought aloud.

I fumbled around for my phone in the darkness and for the first time in my life I took Poppy's advice. I looked through my call register until I found '3 missed calls, caller unknown' and pressed the call button.


	12. Chapter 12 Tony

**_Hi! Well ,this chapter took ages. I wasn't sure how to write it. Especially as it's from Tony's POV.I hope it's not too... well you'll see._**

**_Please remember Tony is DRUNK. I showed this chapter to a couple of people and they kinda missed that point(although I_ _thought I made it fairly obvious)._**

**_It's not that long-Sorry! I am trying to make my chapters longer, I promise!! _**

**_Carry on reading and reviewing! I love you guys! You're awesome!_**

* * *

I was drunk, and I was on the phone to the sexiest girl I'd ever laid eyes on.

I screwed up!

Personally, I think it was all down to the alcohol.

Well, mostly.

'Maria?'

It sounded like she said something like 'Thank God,' but she said it too quietly for me to hear.

'Are you OK?' she asked me. I wasn't sure how to answer that one. I was drunk, couldn't sleep and had just thrown up on the kitchen floor, but apart from that I was fine.

'Oh God, I'm so sorry,' she said.

'Sorry for what?'

'I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to wake you up.'

'Don't worry, I wasn't sleeping.'

'I didn't... interrupt anything did I?' Sex? No. Not tonight unfortunatly.

I couldn't help trying to imagine her. Was she still wearing that sexy red dress? No, she would have taken that off by now and put on...well, maybe she hadn't put on anything.I couldn't help wondering. I was drunk.

'Tony?'

She interupted my trail of thought.

'Huh?'

'OK I'm gonna go now, I'm so sorry for, um, disturbing you.' She sounded uncomfortable.

'Maria, wait! Not that I mind, but I am kinda wondering why you called.' I wanted to keep her talking. She had the sexiest voice in the world and I'd be alone again otherwise.

'I, I don't really know,'

'It's fine you can tell me, even if it's crazy or just total crap.' Where the hell that came from I don't know, but it worked.

She paused for a while before talking 'Well ,it's just...'

She took a couple of deep breaths, which I couldn't resist fantasising about, and then continued.

'It's just this dream, well, nightmare really...' I stopped listening to the words after that. I could hear her voice, her beautiful, sexy voice, but I stopped hearing the words.

I went back to imagining her, lying on her bed holding the phone to her ear. I imagined her eyes, they had that strange intensity about them, and her full lips which I so desperatly wanted to kiss. I imagined her sexy legs, her perfect body, her silky hair resting lightly on her breasts and her breasts spilling out of her bra.

God! I wanted her so bad.

I wanted to hold her, kiss her, hear her moan.

I wanted to screw her senseless.

And, somehow, I wanted more.

More? There is no more than that.Is there?

Alcohol. Really brings out the philosophical side in me.

She was still talking. I loved her voice. It was sexy, like everything else about her. How could someone so sexy still be a virgin? Maybe she wasn't. Maybe I'd just got the wrong idea.

'You've really never slept with anyone,' I said interupting her. I hadn't really intended on saying that aloud. I guess this would be the alcohol playing its part.

She sighed. 'Yes, really!'

I laughed. 'So you're telling me that nobody's popped your cherry yet?' OK that was definately the alcohol.

'Have you been thinking about this the whole time?'

'Not the _whole _time.'

'You haven't actually been listening to anything I've been saying have you?' she was angry.

'Maria, I...' she cut me off.

'Because the only thing you're capable of thinking about for more than just a few seconds is sex, sex, and guess what more sex.' She sounded so damn hot when she was worked up. 'Tony, you're a perv!'

She hung up.

I laughed, walked into the living room and almost immidiatly fell asleep on the sofa, knowing exactly what I would dream about. I didn't have to worry about the nightmares for now. My mind was firmly fixed on Maria Edwards.


	13. Chapter 13 Maria

* * *

_**Hi dudes! I got 10 reviews last chapter which was pretty awesome. I'm going for 11 this time**_ _**please, PLEASE read and review. **_

_**Also, I was just wondering how you guys picture Maria. As in hair colour, eye colour etc. I haven't actually put any of this in and I'm not going to, so I don't mess up how you guys imagine her. I'm just interested to know so leave me a comment or send me an email about that if you can be bothered.**_

_**Oh and did I mention:You guys are awesome!**_

* * *

I'm an idiot.

I mean, seriously, what did I expect?

It's just, it makes me so angry that while I'm there pouring my heart out to him ,he's probably fantasizing about me.

I picked up my phone from where I'd thrown it on the floor, slotting the battery back in and sliding the back on, and then tidied up my room. It wasn't just my phone that I'd thrown. Anger management issues-I know.

I put the last of the pillows back on my bed and sat down.

I felt tears burning my eyes.

'Don't you dare cry Maria Edwards,' I said to myself. I felt humiliated, for the second time that evening. 'So what if I'm a virgin? Just because no one's 'popped my cherry', as he so eloquently put it, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with me.' 'Yeah, apart from the fact you attract all the wrong kind of guys, and the decent one's you're not interested in.' It was true, but why was that? I didn't try to make guys want to sleep with me, they just did.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and wiped it away. 'I'm not a slut,' I said aloud.

I don't know why it got to me so much, I mean this is Tony Stark we're talking about. Why should I care about what he said, or what he thought?

'Pull yourself together Maria!'

I remembered what my older sister,Alisha, used to tell me. 'Only babies cry Maria.' She was a bitch. A daughter from one of my mothers affairs. She used to tease me and hit me, and I'd always try not to cry. 'Are you crying Maria? Only babies cry.' I'd just started school then. I can't have been much older than five.She'd come into my room, when I was doing my homework. I was a good girl,always did as I was told. I think that's why she hated me so much. I never told my parents,I didn't want her to think I was 'weak'. My mother wouldn't have cared anyway. Alicia was her favorite. I guess it was good for me. We lived in a rough neighborhood. If you were weak, you got slaughtered. Showing emotions was a weakness- I'd had that drilled into me since 5 years old.

The past wasn't all bad though. There was Dad. God I missed him. I thought I had the tears under control, but I could feel them running down my cheeks again.

What the hell? Why shouldn't I cry? I let myself go.

I cried for my Dad.

I cried because I was a virgin.

And I cried because Tony Stark was exactly the kind of person I thought he was.

I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

_He ran his hands over my body, before pulling me close to him and pressing his mouth against mine before I could protest. He pushed me gently onto the bed, still kissing me, only stopping to breathe. I felt him roughly pulling at my dress, undressing me and I found myself kissing him back, passionately, almost desperately_. _I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my hands along his chest. I pulled away from his kiss and breathed in deeply. He smelt so good. I felt his lips on my neck, then my shoulders, then my breasts. I took his face in my hands and guided his lips back to mine. He pulled my body tightly against his, we both needed this, so desperately needed this. We made love._

I woke up, hot, sweaty, heart racing and breathing heavily.I felt ashamed and angry, with myself - dirty dreams, about Tony.

'Maria, how could you?' said the voice inside my head.

It's not like it was my fault. You can't control what you_ dream _about, and it's not like it meant anything. The last thing I wanted to do right now was sleep with him.Well actually there really wasn't that much sleeping involved.

I guess it was because of that phone call last night. The conversation was on my mind when I eventually got to sleep.

'Damn you Tony Stark!' I said as I looked at myself in the mirror. 'You are _not_ having me. I don't want you.' I blocked his number from my phone and smiled.


	14. Chapter 14 Tony

_**Got my 11 reviews ! YAY! Keep it up guys. 12 next time ? Oh and thanks to all you guys who responded to the authors note last time!**_

**_OK, I'm going to warn you the first bit of this chapter is a bit... yeah! So feel free to miss all the bit in italics ,it's just Tony and his sick mind. _**

**_Keep reading and reviewing. Already have? Then you're awesome._**

* * *

_I stood behind her, watching the water run over her perfect body. I placed my hands on her waist and ran them up her body, feeling her shudder slightly,under my touch. I kissed her shoulder, pushing her hair away. I loved the way she smelt. She turned around to face me._

_'Fuck me Tony!__' The sweetest words to come from her lips. God! She didn't know how much I wanted to, but at the same time I didn't want to push her into anything._

_'Maria, it's fine we can...'_

'_I'm ready now Tony_,' _she said_, _but she looked a little troubled._

_'Maria, are you sure?'_

_'I'm sure.'_

_I took her in my arms and looked down into her beautiful eyes, she was scared, I could tell. 'Just relax,' I told her, 'Just relax, and it won't hurt.' _

_'OK!' she said softly, but I could feel her tensing. 'If it hurts I'll stop,' I promised her.'Just try to relax.'_

_'I am trying, it's just, I've never done this before,' she said._

_'I know.' I stroked her hair and kissed her softly, pushing her against the wall of the shower. I felt her kissing me back, a little more passionately. She was relaxing now. _

_This was new for both of us. I'd never made love to a virgin, and she'd never made love at all._

_Her kiss became more frantic and I pulled her closer, and closer. She pulled away from the kiss and gasped._

'_Am I hurting you?_'

_'N-no, you're not hurting me,' she replied, her voice was breathy, she was breathing very heavily. 'Oh God Tony!'_ _She was holding me tightly as if she was afraid I'd let her go. I pulled her closer. She bit her lip, trying to suppress a moan and buried her head in my shoulder._

'_It's OK, make as much noise as you want,_' _I told her. I wanted to hear her. I pulled her even closer and fully penetrated her. This time she couldn't hold back._

She always interrupts at the good bit.

'Anthony Edward Stark!' Pepper's voice was more effective than a room full of alarm clocks when it came to waking me up.By the sounds of things, she wasn't in a good mood this morning. I sat up, and immediately regretted it.

'Everything hurts,' I said.

She gave me her most unsympathetic look and replied 'And whose fault is that?'

'I think I've got flu or something.'

She shook her head. 'What you've got, Tony, is a hangover, and probably cramp from sleeping on the couch. Why were you sleeping on the couch anyway?'

I shrugged. 'Seemed like a good idea at the time.' I didn't want to go into what happened last night.If she knew I was still having the nightmares she'd make me go see a shrink.'2 painkillers and a black coffee would be much appreciated.'

'Go get them yourself,' she replied angrily. She was only irritated because she'd specifically asked me not to drink last night. I guess she had a right to be angry, I did promise.But really, it's _my_ press conference, not _hers_ so surely if I want to go to the press conference hung over, that's up to me? Apparently not.

My body was screaming for caffeine. Normally Pepper made me a coffee first thing.

I made my way over to the kitchen, which, I have to tell you, was very painful, thanks to a hangover the size of China. It was only when I got there that I realized the real reason why Pepper refused to get me coffee. The kitchen was a mess. There were shards of glass on the floor from a smashed bottle and a hell of a lot of puke. I'd forgotten about that. 'OK I'll get the painkillers first.' I went to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and swallowed 4 painkillers. I know you're only supposed to take two at a time, but there was no way that two painkillers were going to make me feel any better.

'How many did you take?' said Pepper when I came out.

'Two' I replied.

'You're lying, you took four.'

'Well, if you already knew, why did you ask?' I never understood why she did things like that.

'You know there is a stated dosage for a reason...'

Oh great, here we go. 'Is that for me ?' I asked, taking the cup of coffee from her hands. She'd probably cleaned the kitchen up as well. She couldn't stay mad at me for long.

'I think you have enough toxins in your body, without adding caffeine.'

I took a sip of the coffee, just to irritate her. It worked.

'You know what Tony, it's up to you. Why don't you take six pills, or maybe eight. In fact, why don't you just take the whole damn packet? ' she turned on her heel at stormed off. I seemed to have a real knack for pissing off women at the moment.

I sighed, remembering the phone conversation with Maria, last night. It seemed I managed to get it wrong with her every time. 'Why did you drink Tony? You idiot!' I said to myself. Well I couldn't change the past so I'd just have to apologize and hope for the best. Man, I really screwed up. I'd be lucky if she'd even talk to me on the phone. I called her but I couldn't get through. I left it for a couple of minutes and tried again with no success. She didn't want to speak to me. 'Well done Tony!' said the voice inside my head.'You've just successfully managed to make the sexiest girl you've ever met hate you.'

I threw the phone on the floor in frustration. Pepper walked past with 'I-told-you-so' written all over her face. She smiled at me.

'What?' I asked ,irritated.

'Mr. Stark' she said in her annoyingly 'professional' voice 'You have interview set for 11. I strongly suggest you shower and dress.'She started to walk off and then stopped and added 'Oh, and you really should learn when to quit.'

Well Pepper Potts , Maria Edwards and anyone else out there who had any doubt about this in their mind; Tony Stark does not 'quit' or 'give up' or 'fail'.

'I _will_ get what I want Miss Potts,' I thought to myself, 'And you've just made me even more determined to.'


	15. Chapter 15 Maria

_**Well ...**_

_**Hi guys. I'm feeling a bit low at the moment cuz i only got 6 reviews last chapter! 6!That's dire! So tell me, what am I doing wrong ? PLEASE , I need to know guys! **_

_**Also if you liked the movie (Iron Man-duh), read the book adaptation- its really well written, and just generally awesome ,and if you haven't seen the film, why the hell not? It's nothing short of amazing ,and I should know, having watched it three times, soon to be four!**_

_**Oh and have any of you guys watched The Incredible Hulk? I still can't decide whether its worth watching a second time.**_

_**Please, PLEASE, ****PLEASE, read and review. Tell me what I'm doing right, wrong, whatever. Seriously I'm on my knees begging you guys. **_

_**If you have ever reviewed (especially last chapter), I owe you my sanity, and possibly my life! Thanks!**_

* * *

'Morning Maria!'

'Morning Marcus!'

'Wow! You look...' he thought about it, 'radiant!'

'I must look exactly how I feel then. Seriously Marcus, I don't think anything could get me down today,' I said, and I meant it.

I was practically bouncing off the walls this morning, and it wasn't anything to do with the cup of coffee I'd just had. Life had been good to me the last two months. We were ahead of schedule and I felt as free as a bird. I loved my job, I loved the people I worked with and I loved my life. I don't think I'd felt this good since I got this job.

'A group of us are going out tonight, just for a couple of drinks, I was just wondering if you wanna come?'

I smiled 'I'd love to.' I looked at my watch, 'Tell me about it at lunch,' I said 'Or break, which ever comes first.' He nodded.

'Hey! Before we start could I take a look at some of those tapes from yesterday? I didn't get a chance to look at them before I left yesterday.'

'Sure!'

'Miss Edwards.' I turned around, it was Betty. One of the many secretaries the studio had. 'You have a meeting with the producers in 5 minutes.' She bustled off.

I sighed and shook my head, I'd completely forgotten about the meeting.

Marcus laughed. 'You forgot didn't you?'

I nodded, 'I need to go change!' I always had a change of clothes with me, just in case of situations like these. I picked up the loudspeaker. 'Well guys! We haven't even started yet and you've got a twenty five minute break.'

'25 minutes?Are you sure that's going to be long enough?' Marcus asked me.

'It's gonna have to be.'

I picked up my bag and went to get changed.

I hate 'meetings'. They seem to go on forever. It takes about 20 minutes until you get to anything new and another 10 minutes until you get to anything interesting, and even then, it's not exactly life changing stuff.

'... and so the situation was reviewed, last meeting, however...'

'Excuse me!' I couldn't help interrupting 'I don't mean to be rude but I'm losing filming time here. Couldn't we just skip the review of last meeting and address the current situation ?'

'Good old Maria, straight to the point. I must say, I am inclined to agree with Miss Edwards though.'

I smiled. Mr. Lee was one of the major investors in the film. Someone people would listen to. Still, it took another 10 minutes to get to anything... interesting.

'Mr. Stark ?' I couldn't believe it.

'Yes, it came to us as a surprise as well...'

'As in Tony Stark?'

'Nothing has been agreed at the moment, but hopefully this evening...'

I was still trying to get my head around it. Why would he want to invest in this film? He didn't know anything about films?

Unless...

No.

If there is a God, he hates me.

'...everybody is expected to attend tonights meeting.' Everybody? Why? The producers and finance I could understand but I didn't need to go, did I?

'Mr. Stark specifically asked for the director to be present.'

'But I don't need to be there. I have nothing to do with this,' I argued.

'Miss Edwards...'

'Besides I'm busy tonight.' I was _not going to _sit in the same room as that man for a whole meeting! No way!

'This is a very important meeting Miss Edwards. I thought you were dedicated to this film.'

'I am...'This really wasn't a choice, I sighed. 'I'll be there.'

I should have known everything was going too well. Like the calm before the storm. There was only one thing that would have put me in a bad mood today and it had just happened.

Two months and I thought I was free of him. I shouldn't have been so naive.

7.14 pm. I was still wondering what to wear. Black dress or black trousers and shirt ? I looked at the dress one last time and shook my head. 'Too short, he'd be looking up your skirt the whole time.' I changed into the trousers and shirt,clipped up my hair, did my make up and looked at myself in the mirror. 'Top button, done up or not ? ' I couldnt decide. If I had it done up the fabric pulled really tight across my breasts which made it look like I was trying to draw attention to them, which I wasnt. But if I left it undone then there was too much clevage. 'You can't win Maria!' I left it undone.

The door bell rang; my lift for this evening.

'Should I just kill myself now?' I asked myself before opening the door. 'No! I won't give him the satisfaction.'


	16. Chapter 16 Tony

_**I got 14 reviews last chapter! Thankyou so much! I'm up to 100 over all which is really awesome. Sorry about moaning last time.I didn't mean to sound ungrateful, I was just feeling pretty low.**_

_**This is my longest chapter yet, so you guys should be happy. I think it'll be about a week until I can update again (computer restrictions, long story).**_

_**Don't stop reviewing! Thankyou so much!**_

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Pepper walked into the room looking slightly uneasy.

'I tried to call you over the intercom, but…' she trailed off.

'Yeah I was kinda busy. Y'know, Nick called and it was a pretty big mission and I…' I looked at her. 'Hey, are you OK?'

She looked at me and then at the metal suit for a while and then said quietly so I could barely hear her 'You could have told me.'

I shrugged, 'You would have worried.'

'Damn right I would have worried Tony. I know you like to think of yourself as a superhero but you're not invincible'.

Neither of us said anything for a while, just stared at each other.

'You're OK' she said, stating the obvious.

'Yeah, I'm great. How are you?'

She sighed, looked down at her papers and went back to being 'Pepper the professional'. 'You have a meeting…'

'I have a meeting, wow, jeez, would you look at that?' I muttered sarcastically.

She continued talking over the top of me 'which started five minutes ago.'

'You never told me what happened to the Audi.'

She ignored me. 'I tried to call you over the intercom, but you just decided to ignore me.'

I continued. 'There is no way that I'm gonna believe its still at the garage. Look, if it's a write off just tell me. I can take it.'

Out of all my cars the Audi was my favourite. I had, however, managed to smash it up while doing some of the initial tests for the Iron man costume...flight stabilisers...not particularly pleasant memories.

She broke it down for me. 'Tony. Meeting! Now!'

I sighed. 'Meetings. Story of my life!'

'What about women and cars,' she muttered under her breath.

I laughed. 'What was that, Pepper?'

'I said, um, will that be all Mr Stark?' She was a terrible liar.

'I don't know. Will that be all, Miss Potts?'

She cleared her throat before answering. 'Well, I've left a suit in your room and I strongly suggest you shower.'

I smiled at her. 'You wanna give me a hand?'

She blinked. 'I'm sorry?'

'In the shower. Make sure I'm all nice and clean.'

She gave an irritated sigh.

'Is that a maybe?'

'Tony!'

I sat down at the computer. 'Jarvis, throw up modification 3.0 of the flight stabilisers in sub folder I5G'

'Certainly sir.'

I'd just been out saving the world, and the very last thing I wanted to do right now was go to a meeting.

Pepper didn't say anything for a while. I thought maybe she'd given up. Usually she holds out for longer. Usually I end up going to the meeting, even if I'm an hour late.

'Mr Stark,' she said slowly. 'Did I mention that a certain' she paused for dramatic effect, 'Miss Edwards is attending the meeting, which you are now…' she looked down at her watch '7 minutes late for.'

I looked up at Pepper. 'Actually, Miss Potts, you failed to mention that _very _crucial piece of information.'

I stood up and headed towards the door.

'Sorry Pepper, that shower's going to have to wait. I have a meeting right now. Maybe later.'

She smiled, satisfied.

I hadn't been in contact with Maria for the last two months; after a certain drunken late night phone call she'd refused to talk to me. I smiled remembering the conversation. 'Tony, you're a perv!' I never actually found out why she called, I was too busy fantasizing about her. I could understand why she was so pissed off, but to be fair, it is pretty hard not to fantasize over someone as sexy as her, never mind the fact that I was drunk.

I found myself fantasizing about her again as I showered and dressed. 'Screw the meeting!' I thought. 'If she just gives me what I need, they can have whatever the hell they want.'

I sauntered into the meeting room. Maria was sitting opposite where I would be sitting, which was perfect. I'd forgotten how damn sexy she was. I smiled at her and she glared back. She was still mad at me. Talk about holding a grudge. I laughed to myself before taking a seat. The room had gone silent.

'So,' I said 'What have you guys got for me?'

The man to the left of me, who I assumed was going to be doing most of the talking, looked a little thrown; I guess it's not the usual way to start a meeting. After about 3 seconds, he finally started mumbling away about something, I ummed and ahhed in the right places but I wasn't listening to a word he was saying.

Instead I focused on Maria. She didn't seem to be listening either. I smiled at her again and she gave me a really evil look. If looks could kill... She didn't look at me again. I watched her for a little while. She grabbed a pen and started scribbling onto a note pad. She could easily have been a Maxim cover girl, I thought. She had the looks and the body, and really I should know, I've got up close and personal with a fair share of them, usually in my bedroom. I laughed to myself, if she knew what I was thinking right now...

I took my phone out of my pocket, quickly set it to silent and text Rhodey under the table, just to tell him that I was alive.

'Is there anything else you'd like to discuss Mr. Stark?' said the man to the left of me.

I thought for a little while. 'Actually, yeah. I don't suppose you have the viewing figures of the director's last film?' I knew, or at least thought, that Maria would have the answer to that one, meaning that she'd have to talk, and I'd get to hear her beautiful voice again.

'Miss Edwards?' asked the guy left of me.

She looked up from her note pad, 'Sorry?' I smiled; I'd forgotten how sexy her voice was.

'Viewing figures for you're last film.'

'I don't have them.'

The man shot her a look which said 'why the hell not?'

She glared back at him.

'Approximates?' he asked.

'No idea.'

The man looked at me apologetically 'Well, I can assure you Mr. Stark, that Miss Edwards' last film was very successful and…'

'But you don't have the figures?'

'I'm afraid not. But I can have them faxed over to you first thing tomorrow morning.'

'Well, I _really_ wanted to see the numbers and maybe discuss them,' I lied.

Maria was giving me really evil looks now. I smiled, thinking of how she was going to react to the next thing I was going to say.

I pretended to think for a while and then said 'I don't suppose that it would be possible for maybe just me and Miss Edwards to meet at a later date to go through the figures.'

'That can definitely be arranged,' said the man, who clearly believed this crap I was feeding him.

'Maybe tomorrow evening.'

'That should be fine.'

'I'm not sure,' growled Maria, who looked as though she could kill me now. God! She had no idea know how sexy she looked.

The man shot her a warning look and then turned to me and said 'Tomorrow evening will be fine.'

'7 o'clock?'

He nodded.

'Well I think that's about it!' I said standing up. He stood and we shook hands.

'Thankyou for your time Mr. Stark.'

'Not at all!'

Gradually people started to file out of the room. I stood by the door. Waiting.

One man stopped to shake hands with me.

'Nice to meet you Mr. Stark,' he said.

'Likewise Mr. …'

'Lee' he said. 'Just call me Stan.'

Maria was the last one out. She walked past without looking at me, but I followed close behind.

'How have you been?' I asked her

'Fine,' she replied coldly.

'Fine?'

She walked through a set of double doors, without holding them open, letting them close in my face. I smiled and walked a little faster to catch up with her.

'You're still mad at me.'

She didn't say anything.

'You're still pissed off about that phone call.'

Still nothing.

'Hell hath no fury like a virgins scorn huh?'

'Don't Tony!' Her fists were clenched and she was shaking very slightly. I smiled. 'Let me see how far I can push this,' I thought.

'Don't what?' I asked. 'Don't follow you? Don't talk to you? Don't fantasize about you? I _really_ can't help it Maria. '

No reply.

'OK' I thought. 'Let's push it just a little bit further.'

'Or maybe you mean…' I said moving closer to her 'don't do… this.' I placed my hand on her lower back, running it down until my hand was on her butt.

That's when she flipped.

She turned around and stared at me with what I can only describe as pure contempt and slapped me, hard, really hard, OK I'm not girl but she hit _really _hard. Then she turned on her heel and stormed out.

I put my hand to my face. Other people were looking at me now.

'Wow!' I said. 'She hits hard.'

The man who had been talking to me at the meeting looked mortified. 'I-I am _so_ sorry Mr. Stark. I don't know what the hell she thinks she's playing at, I…'

I smiled. 'It's fine. I might have, uh, irritated her a little bit. I'm sure Miss. Edwards and I can sort things out tomorrow. Pepper will see you out.'

The man nodded, still looking incredibly awkward.

'The exit is this way, sir,' I heard Pepper say.

I walked into my living room and poured myself a glass of Scotch. I was feeling quite pleased with myself. I'd managed to arrange a 'meeting' with Maria for tomorrow, and this time she'd be on her own. After a few minutes Pepper walked in.

'How was the meeting?' she asked. I knew from the tone of her voice, that she'd seen Maria slap me.

'Very…' I thought about it, 'successful.'

'Successful?'

'I've got a meeting with Maria tomorrow at seven, so yeah, I'd call that successful.'

'You _also_ got a bruised cheek bone,' she pointed out sounding somewhat satisfied.

'Well,' I thought to myself. 'A bruised cheek bone is a small price to pay for the dreams I'm going to be having tonight.' I refilled my glass and smiled.


	17. Chapter 17 Maria

_**I'm glad some of you picked up on the Stan Lee reference last chapter. He was also in chapter 15. I don't know if any of you picked up on that.**_

_**OK. I'm dedicating this chapter to**_ _**SpottedHeart2646, who asked me to update fast. Honestly though, I can't update anymore till next week. **_

_**Keep on reviewing guys. You know I know you rock!**_

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He was late; 22 and half minutes late. I had to spend 22 and half minutes waiting for him; 22 and half minutes of my life I would never get back. I hadn't even seen him yet and he'd already managed to irritate me.

'Don't let him get to you,' said the voice inside my head, 'That's exactly what he wants.'

The room went silent as he walked in. I hated the way he walked in, really casually like it didn't matter that he was late, like the whole world revolved around him. He smiled at me and I couldn't help glaring back at him. I can't believe I let myself get pushed into sitting opposite him.

He sat down.

'So, what have you guys got for me?' he said.

He looked across the table and smiled at me again. I could feel myself getting angry.

'No' I said to myself, 'I will not let him make me angry. Not again.'

I grabbed a pen and started writing on my notepad. When I looked up I saw that he clearly wasn't paying any attention to the meeting. He was texting someone under the table. Probably some slut he'd slept with. How no one else noticed I don't know.

I carried on writing before I could get any angrier. I concentrated on making a detailed list of things I needed to do until I heard someone say my name.

Miss Edwards?'

I looked up. 'Sorry?'

'Viewing figures for you're last film.'

'I don't have them.'

Mr Baker wasn't happy. 'Don't give me that look,' I thought, 'I shouldn't be here anyway.'

'Approximates?' he asked.

'No idea,' I replied, maybe a little dismissively.

Mr Baker turned to Tony .'Well, I can assure you Mr. Stark, that Miss Edwards' last film was very successful and…'

'But you don't have the figures?' said Tony.

'Don't you dare make a big thing out of this,' I thought angrily, 'Don't you dare!'

'I'm afraid not. But I can have them faxed over to you first thing tomorrow morning,' Mr Baker replied.

'Well, I really wanted to see the numbers and maybe discuss them.' He was lying through his teeth. What the hell was he trying to do? Make me lose my job?

'I don't suppose that it would be possible for maybe just me and Miss Edwards to meet at a later date to go through the figures.'

I started thinking of ways to kill him, most of them involving long torturous process'. 'I'm not agreeing to this,' I thought. 'There is no way that I'm agreeing to another meeting with him or so help me I will kill him.'

'That can definitely be arranged,' said Mr Baker.

'Maybe tomorrow evening,' suggested Tony.

'That should be fine.'

'NO! It is _not_ fine,' I wanted to scream, but that was a sure fire way of getting fired so I had to settle for 'I'm not sure.'

Mr Baker looked at me, his face said 'You _are_ going to this meeting Miss Edwards, it's not open for discussion.' Then he turned to Tony again,'Tomorrow evening will be fine.'

'7 o'clock?' Tony suggested.

Mr Baker nodded.

'Well I think that's about it!' Tony said.

'Thankyou for your time Mr. Stark.'

'Not at all!'

I was shaking with anger, and I knew that if I didn't calm down I might end up doing something I regretted.

'Breathe Maria, just breathe.' I said to myself. I waited until I had calmed down a little and then stood to exit the room. I was the last one out.

I hadn't noticed Tony standing by the door.

'You can do this Maria,' I said to myself. I decided that I wasn't going to feel irritated or angry for the next 15 minutes. Trust me, its harder than it sounds,especially when you've got Tony Stark right behind you. I don't think I lasted for 30 seconds.

I walked past Tony making sure I didn't look at him. He followed me, just as I expected he would.

'How have you been?' he asked me.

'Well I was absolutely on top of the world this morning, but as soon as I found out that I was going to have to see you today I was feeling, well, bordering on suicidal' I thought. Instead I replied coldly 'Fine!'

'Fine?' I heard him ask.

'What are you? An idiot?' I thought.

I walked through a set of double doors and let them close in Tony's face. I knew it wouldn't faze him, but it gave me a small sense of satisfaction.

He caught up with me.

'You're still mad at me,' he stated.

'You think?' said the voice inside my head. But I decided not to reply.

'You're still pissed off about that phone call.'

He wanted a rise out of me, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

'Hell hath no fury like a virgins scorn huh?'

Why did he have to bring that up again? I couldn't help feeling angry. I clenched my fists and started shaking.

'Don't Tony!' I said through gritted teeth.

'Don't what?' he asked. 'Don't follow you? Don't talk to you? Don't fantasize about you? I really can't help it Maria.'

He was really pushing it. He had the advantage here, when I was in front of my co-workers and executives, and he knew it.

'Or maybe you mean…' he moved closer to me 'don't do… this.' I felt his hand on my back.

'Don't you dare!' I thought.

I felt his hand on my butt.

At this point the anger, that I had been trying so hard to supress took over. I turned around and slapped him. Then I did the only other thing I could think to do and stormed out.

I waited in the car park for my ride, someone who was at the meeting. I was feeling somewhat satisfied with myself. He had that coming to him.

After I'd cooled down a little, I started thinking more clearly. As much as he deserved it,slapping Tony probably wasn't the best idea. Especially not in front of my executives. I mean it's hardly professionally behavior. 'Oh God!' I thought 'What the hell have I just done?'

I saw all the people from the meeting walking into the car park. Thankfully the person who was giving me a lift came over before Mr Baker could see me.

The drive home was awkward. It was a silent journey. I knew what the driver was thinking 'Well done Maria, you just lost us a major investor.'

We pulled up outside my house. 'Thanks,' I said, before getting out of the car. It was only when I got out of the car that I realized that I'd left my bag, which contained my purse, my keys and my cell phone.

'You've got to be kidding me,' I thought.

This was turning out to be an evening from hell. As if having to sit through a meeting with Tony wasn't enough, I'd also managed to put my job on the line and leave my keys, purse and phone in somebody else's car.

'Shit,' I said. It wasn't often that I swore, but when I did I went full out.

'I don't fucking understand. I've worked hard my whole fucking life and this is what I get for it is it? You bastard,' I shouted, for Gods benefit.

'You know what why don't you just top it off and make it start chucking it down? See if I give a shit.'

It started raining.

I'd always been agnostic but I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that either God didn't exist or that he wasn't the 'all loving, all forgiving' person that everyone made him out to be.

'Son of a bitch,' I muttered as I got absolutely drenched.

I could imagine my Dad telling me to go wash my mouth out with soap.

I walked down the road aimlessly, considering what I should do.'If nothing good happens within 10 seconds, God doesn't exist,' I decided. I got to 9, looked down and found a dollar lying next to my foot. 'Great,' I thought, 'what I can I do with one dollar?' I looked across the road ,saw a phone box, and smiled.


	18. Chapter 18 Tony

_**Hiya dudes!**_

_** I got this up quicker than I thought I would, mostly due to the fact that I've needed to use the computer a lot recently for my 'English Coursework'. Funny thing is I did the coursework in about 20 minutes and I got an A for it. Apparently I gave it a 'humorous slant'. Ha!  
**_

_** I'll try and update again at the weekend but no promises! Thankyou for you're awesome reviews. Keep 'em coming!**_

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I was toying around with the arc reactor again when I heard the steady clicking of Pepper's heels. She picked up my cup of half drunk coffee, which was now cold, and replaced it with a new cup, then turned around to go back upstairs.

'Pepper,' I said as she'd nearly reached the door. She stopped.

'Yes Mr. Stark'

'I need you to do something for me, come here.'

She walked over to me warily. I'd asked her to do some pretty weird things before, but this wasn't going to be anything out of the ordinary. I handed her my credit card. She frowned.

'What do you want me to do with this?' she asked.

'I need a present,' I explained.

'A present?'

'Yeah, like a necklace or something,'

'Oh right,' she understood now, a present for a lady, 'Any particular necklace?'

'A nice one, anything over a thousand dollars.'

'Be a bit more specific Tony. Diamonds? Gold?'

'I don't know, just a nice one,'

She sighed. 'OK, I'll do my best.'

I smiled as an idea came to me, 'Rubies.'

'Sorry?'

'Make sure it has rubies, lots of red rubies.'

'OK. A nice necklace, over a thousand dollars, with rubies.'

'You've got it. Oh and Pepper get yourself something.'

She looked at me.

'Get _myself _something?'

'Yeah, whatever you want. A pair of shoes, a handbag, whatever.'

She looked at me suspiciously, probably wondering what the catch was.

'Go' I said, 'Go spend my money.'

She smiled and walked out calling 'I'll be about an hour Tony.'

'An hour minimum,' I shouted back and went back to toying with the arc reactor.

The necklace was of course for Maria. I owed her an apology. Why rubies? Because they reminded me of her, maybe because of that cute red dress she'd been wearing that night at the party. God, she looked so sexy in that dress.

Almost exactly an hour later Pepper walked back down the stairs.

'Have fun?' I asked her.

'Yes thankyou Mr. Stark.' was her reply.

'What did you get yourself?'

She gestured down at her shoes.

I rolled my eyes, '_Another_ pair of ankle breakers?'

'Here's your present for Maria,' she said, handing me a small box.

'How did you…?'

She smiled 'I already told you, I can tell when you're up to something Tony.'

'I'm not up to anything,' I protested.

'Uh huh,' she replied.

'Let's have a look at this then,' I said opening the box. I took the necklace out of the box and held it up so I could see it properly. She'd chosen a gold, ruby encrusted flower on a chain. It was nice. Nice but not perfect. It only took me a few seconds to figure it out.

'White gold' I said, 'Definitely white gold and maybe a few more rubies.' I put the necklace back in the box and handed it back over to Pepper and went back to the computer.

'What do you want me to do with this ?' she asked me.

'Take it back.I want it with white gold and more rubies.' I thought that was fairly obvious.

Pepper sighed, 'I can only buy what's in the shop Tony.'

'Fine,' I said, 'I'll do it myself.' I felt like going out anyway. I took the box from her hands and started to walk upstairs.She followed me.

'Wait, Tony…'

'You got this from Tiffany's right?'

'I…yes. Look ,Tony, it takes time for these things to be made you realize. You can't just go into a shop and demand something that they haven't got.'

I laughed. 'Just watch me.'

She folded her arms. 'Fine, go ahead. Make a fool of yourself.'

I grabbed my keys, and my wallet. 'Thankyou for your approval Miss Potts.'

She scowled. I walked out.

I put the box down on the counter. 'Same thing but with white gold and more rubies.'

'I-I'm sorry sir?' the man behind the counter looked a little startled.

I sighed, it wasn't that difficult to understand was it? I mean seriously, this guy calls himself a jeweler?

He looked at me.

'Tony Stark?'

I sighed. 'Uh Huh'

He blinked. 'Well how can I help you Mr. Stark ?'

Hang on a second. I just told him what I wanted. For God's sake.

'It's Tony' I said.

'Tony,' he repeated and smiled.

'This guy is an idiot,' I thought.

'This necklace…' I gestured to the box on the counter. He opened it and took out the necklace and examined it.

'Yes. One of ours…'

No! You don't say! It's not like the name's on the box or anything.

'…very nice. Very nice,' he continued, 'Excellent choice Mr. Stark.'

'Actually my PA choose it.'

The man looked at me sheepishly.

'What I want,' I said very slowly, giving the man time to process my request in his peanut of a brain 'Is a necklace that looks exactly like this, only with white gold,' I paused so he could take that in, 'and more rubies.'

The man nodded. 'White gold and more rubies.'

Well that took long enough. 'I'll leave this stuff to Pepper next time' I decided.

'Well I'm sure we can have that ready for you by next week Mr. Stark.'

Next week?

'It's Tony,' I said 'and I need it today.'

He stared at me like I was crazy, 'Today? Impossible.'

'And I suppose getting an extra thousand dollars for that necklace would be impossible too?'

'An extra _thousand_?'

I nodded. He took a while to think about it.

'Mr. Stark, it's just not possible. There just isn't the time. I could have it done in maybe two days at a push but…'

'Make that an extra two thousand dollars.'

'Mr Stark, I-I… _two thousand_ ?'

'Two thousand,' I repeated, 'and it's just Tony.'

'I don't know,Mr. Star..I mean Tony, I'm not sure. I can't see anyway…'

I sighed, This was getting irritating now. 'Three thousand.'

'_Three ?_'He stared at me in disbelief.

I stood waiting for him to say something.

'_Three ?_' he asked again.

'Yes, it comes after two.'

The man shook his head, still processing the information. 'Thank God,' I thought. 'Thank God that I don't have to associate with idiots on a regular basis.'

This was not entirely true. Most of the girls that had been in my bed were idiots. Most. But not all.

'I tell you what I can do,Mr St…'

'…Tony.'

'I can take this,' he said taking a necklace almost identical to the one Pepper had, only with more rubies, 'And I can plate this with white gold.'

'Yeah, great,' I said. 'You do that.' Why could he not have just said that before?

He scratched his head 'I'm not sure about the chain though, I have silver but not white gold.'

'Not silver,' I said. Silver, in my opinion was tacky.

He looked at me. Expecting me to make another suggestion. He was supposed to be the expert, not me, and yet he was looking to me for ideas.

'Platinum ?' I suggested.

'Of course,' he said 'Why didn't I think of that?'

'Because you my friend, are an idiot,' I replied silently.

'I need it by 6PM, tonight,' I said.

He nodded '6PM. It'll be ready.'

I took out my credit card. 'So how much is that?'

He looked at me. 'Err.. four thousand six hundred and eighty dollars I believe.' I nodded and put my card in the machine. 'I'll be back at six' I said before leaving.

'I'll see you this evening Mr. Stark.'

'It's Tony,' I thought 'Just Tony.'

'She better like this necklace,' I thought. I shook my head, knowing my luck with Maria, it would probably turn out that she hated white gold.


	19. Chapter 19 Maria

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_**My longest chapter ever! I think there will be a couple of short ones after this though. Thankyou for all your lovely reviews. Don't stop!****It's really awesome hearing from you guys!**_

**_Also I've had a few new readers lately. Just wanted to say hi!_**

_**Oh and I really wanted to thank Ladyhawke Legend for the lovely email. **_

* * *

'Sorry Marcus,' I thought before even getting to the phone box. I couldn't think of anyone else to call and his number just kept coming to mind. I'd never made an effort to memorize his number, I guess I'd just seen it so many times that it had gone into my subconscious memory.

I picked up the phone, put the dollar in the money slot and dialed Marcus' number. 'Please pick up!' I prayed. 'Please, please pick up!' After 3 rings he did. I was so relieved.

'Hello?'

'Hi Marcus.' I instantly felt like everything was going to be OK. Marcus seemed to have that effect on me. He made me feel safe.

'Maria, is that you?'

'Yeah ,I'm at a call box and I've only got a dollar so… ' I was going to apologize in advance for sounding rude. I knew I didn't have that long.

He interrupted me. 'Want me to call you back?' That would make things a lot easier.

'That would be great.'

'OK. I'll speak to you in about 20 seconds.'

I smiled, 'Thanks Marcus.' I put the phone down, waiting for it to ring.

I'm sure he called back in less than 20 seconds.

'Maria,'

'Hi, again.'

'What are you doing in a call box at quarter to ten in the evening?'

I sighed, 'I left my bag in someone elses car and my keys and my phone and purse were in there so I can't get into my apartment or call anyone and then it started raining and I found a dollar and the call box and I…what was I telling you?'

He laughed. 'Wait,' he said, 'You've been outside in the rain?'

'Yeah.'

'You must be absolutely soaking.'

'Yeah.'

'Maria, it's freezing out there.' I could hear the concern in his voice.

'It is pretty cold.'

'Where are you?' he asked.

'About a minute away from my apartment,' I replied.

'I'm coming to pick you up, now,' he said, 'Can I meet you outside your apartment?'

'Marcus I…' I had called him to ask if he would do exactly that, but here he was just offering. I felt bad. I was using him yet again. I felt like I should say no, but then what? I had no more money and I couldn't think of anyone else to call anyway. I didn't say anything as this ran through my mind.

'I'll be there in ten,' Marcus said.

'Marcus, I feel really bad about this.'

'Don't ,' he said. 'I'm offering.' The thing is that's what made it worse. He was such nice guy, which made me feel even worse about this whole situation.

'I'll see you outside your apartment in ten minutes, OK?'

'OK,' I replied.

'See you Maria.' He put the phone down.

'Maria,You bitch!' said the voice in my head. But really, what else could I have done?

I walked back to my apartment. The downpour had finished and there was only a light shower now. I stood shivering in the cold. 10 minutes is a long time to wait when you're cold and wet.

I smiled as a familiar dark blue VW Passat pulled up. I walked over to the car briskly, opened the passanger door and got in.

'Maria.'

I turned to look at Marcus.

'Hi,' I didn't really know what to say.

He looked at me for a while. I felt a little uncomfortable. 'You're completely soaked through aren't you?'

'I am so sorry. I'm going to mess up your car aren't I?'

He smiled slightly. 'It's not the car I'm worried about.' Then completely out of the blue he grabbed my hand.

'You're freezing,' he said.

'Well I-I do have, er, very bad circulation.'

Then he put his other hand on top of mine. My heart was racing. I was freaking out. 'I don't want to be in this situation! Please don't put me in this situation!' I thought desperately. I looked at him and he looked back at me.

'You're shivering,' he said smiling.

'Am I?' I hadn't even noticed. I wondered if this was because I was freaking out or if it was just the cold.

'Yes,' he said. 'It's cute.' He let go of my hand and I inwardly let out a small sigh of relief.

He took off his jacket and handed it over to me.

'Marcus', it's fine.'

'No it's not fine,' he said, 'I don't want you getting hypothermia Maria.' He was really worried, I could hear it in his voice. It was sweet. I sighed, why couldn't I just be in love with him? It would make things so much easier. He deserved better than me though.

I wrapped the jacket around myself, fastened my seat belt and then we set off. We didn't speak after that, until we got to his apartment.

I'd only ever been in Marcus' apartment four times. I was always amazed how tidy everything was. Marcus handed me a towel and a couple of blankets and I sat curled up on the sofa in his living room with the towel and the blankets wrapped around me. He switched the TV on for me and handed me the remote. I flicked through the channels, eventually settling for the news. He looked around the room, which I would have described as pristine and went over to a shelf to realign some DVD's. I smiled to myself. 'Perfectionist or OCD,' I thought.

'I haven't even offered you a drink yet have I?' he said.

I shook my head .

He thought for a while,'Hot chocolate?' he asked.

'Hot chocolate would be perfect,' I replied.

He went out into the kitchen and came back holding a mug of hot chocolate. He placed it on the table for me.

'Thanks,' I said.

'Anything else I can get you?' he asked.

I shook my head.

'Well you know you can help yourself to whatever you want. Call me if you need anything.'

I smiled. 'OK'

He walked out of the room and I picked up the mug of hot chocolate and began drinking it. It was perfect, this was perfect, he was perfect. It was me who was messed up. I knew there were loads of girls who wanted to date him. I should want to date him. Why didn't I?

I felt myself starting to drift off. Today had been exhausting.

'Maria.' Marcus' voice woke me from my semi sleeping state. 'I've just changed the sheets on the bed and I've left out a couple of things you could change into if you want.'

'Marcus it's fine. I'll stay here.'

He shook his head. 'You've had a rough day. I think you could do with a proper nights sleep, and you're not going to get that on the couch.' I knew that even if I'd had the best day of my life he'd still be insisting that I slept in the bed.

'What about you?' I asked.

'I'll be fine in here.' That meant I was effectively chucking him out of his own bed.

'Honestly I'm fine here,' I insisted.

'Look, if it's just that you're too tired to move I can carry you.'

I smiled. 'That doesn't sound like such a bad idea, but seriously here is great.'

He shook his head and I knew that if I didn't move he would just carry me.

I sighed and stood up. 'Fine.' I grabbed the towel and the sheets and started to walk out of the room. He followed me carrying the empty mug. We both stopped outside his room.

He looked at me for a little while before saying 'Goodnight Maria.'

'Goodnight Marcus,' I replied.

I walked into the room and closed the door,folded the towel and blankets up and put them in a neat pile on the floor. I walked over to the bed. He'd left a couple of over sized T-shirts on the bed for me. All I really wanted to do is sleep but I decided that sleeping in damp clothes was probably not the best idea. I stripped out of my clothes, leaving them in a messy pile on the floor ,slipped on one of the T-shirts and climbed into his bed.

I thought I'd fall asleep almost straight away, but I couldn't. There was something really weird about this, being in his bed,wearing his clothes.

Part of me started freaking out again, but eventually I relaxed and started to drift off.

'Maybe you'd prefer it if he was here with you,' said a voice in my head,'Safe in his arms. Maybe you were only freaking out earlier because you _are_ in love with him. That's what you're afraid of.'

'Shut up and let me sleep,' I said to the voice, 'That doesn't make sense anyway.'

I just wanted to sleep but my mind wouldn't let me go that easily. I started going over the events of the day. I felt a resigned anger wash over me as I remembered the events of the meeting with Tony, followed by a sense of calm satisfaction.I didn't regret slapping him. He deserved it.

'Not so sure you'll be thinking that tomorrow,' came the annoying voice again.

'Go away,' I thought, 'Just let me feel pleased with myself for a while. Tomorrow will sort itself out.' The last part was more of a wish.

Shortly after that I fell into a deep blissful sleep.

I woke at quarter to seven. Marcus was in the room, topless. I couldn't help staring, I'd never noticed how fit he was. He looked at me awkwardly.

'Sorry,' he said. 'I didn't mean to disturb you, I just needed to get a top.'

'Yeah,' was the only thing I could think to answer. I couldn't believe I'd never noticed what a nice body he had. Mind you I'd never seen him topless before. He caught me staring at him and I looked away, embarrassed.

He put on a top.

'I'm just going round the corner to the shop,' he explained, 'I'm out of milk.'

'OK,'I said. I couldn't look at him, not now.

He walked out.

I got out of the bed and looked for my clothes. I couldn't see them anywhere. I wondered if maybe Marcus had moved them, he seemed to have a thing with being tidy.

I got up and went to the kitchen and looked for a cupboard with glasses in so I could get myself a glass of water. Everything was perfectly aligned. I laughed, 'Gotta be OCD.'

I found a glass and went to the tap to fill it with water. I rinsed the glass out, dried it and tried to put it back in exactly the same place I'd got it from.

Marcus walked into the kitchen with a two pint bottle of milk.

'I don't suppose you've moved my clothes.'

He looked at me apologetically, 'Yeah, I have. Sorry.'

He went to the tumble drier ,pulled out my clothes and started to fold them up.

I took the clothes from his arms before he'd finished. He really didn't need to bother. I was going to put them on in a minute anyway.

'Thanks,' I said, 'I'm just going to change.'

I walked into his room and got changed, sorted out my hair as best as I could, and then went back into the kitchen. Over breakfast we talked. About anything, everything. I hadn't spent any real time outside of work with Marcus for a while. I forgot how well I got on with him. He was sweet and he always made me smile. We used to spend hours just talking. I missed that.

'We should do this again,' I said, clearing the breakfast things away.

Marcus frowned ' What leaving you're bag in someone elses car, getting absolutely drenched and then staying round mine?'

I laughed, 'No. Just talking.'

'Yeah, we should,' he agreed.

He drove me to work.

I had to go and see the producers straight away. 'Still feeling pleased with yourself for slapping Tony?' said the irritating voice in my head. I ignored it.

'Miss Edwards,' came the icy voice of Mr. Baker. '_You_ are incredibly lucky.'

'I am?' I thought. I didn't _feel_ very lucky.

'Fortunately for you, Mr. Stark still wants to see you this evening,' he continued.

Fortunately? Fortunate for who? Definitely not me.

'Are you sure that this is a good idea?' I asked.

He looked at me angrily. 'You could have lost us an investor yesterday Maria. What the hell did you think you were playing at?'

I was going to argue my case but I didn't think he'd listen to me anyway.

'You better turn this thing around. If we lose this deal…' He didn't continue, just shook his head and walked out.

Mr. Lee walked up to me. 'I think this is yours,' he said, holding out my bag.

I nodded. 'Thanks.'I gave a weak smile then checked my purse, keys and phone were all there. They were.

'Look Maria. I know you probably had a perfectly reasonable explanation as to what happened yesterday. All you can do tonight is try your best. I think Tony'll come round.'

'But if I lose this deal…'

Mr. Lee shook his head,'Baker likes making threats, but they're empty threats. You're a good director Maria. He can't afford to lose you, besides no one else would agree to it.'

I smiled.

'But we really do need another investor,' he said.

'I'll sort it out,' I said.

He smiled, 'Good.' He walked out.

'He'll be here really soon,' said his PA. Miss Potts I think she was called. I expected him to be late anyway. It was good. It gave me time to prepare.'I'm just going to be completely professional. It's just a job that has to be done. No point getting stressed about it.' I ran through what I needed to say a few times, sorted out my papers and checked my watch. It was quarter past seven when he walked in,15 minutes late.He wasn't even wearing a suit.

'Good evening Mr. Stark'

He gave me one of his 100 watt smiles. 'Hello Maria.'

'Well I have the…'

'I don't like this room,' he said, 'Let's move.'

I sighed picked up my stuff and followed him.

'I prefer my living room,' he said. Sitting down on the sofa. I sat down. 'Well no I prefer my workshop, or my bedroom but…'

No, I didn't want to get into that sort of conversation 'I have the fi..'

He interrupted me again, 'Wine?' he asked.

'I, no, I'm not drinking. What I was trying to say is…'

'Just a small one,' he said.

Was he actually going to let me finish?

'No. Look ,what I was trying to say is that I have the figures that you asked for yesterday, here.'

I handed him the piece of paper and he handed me a glass of red wine.

I put it down on the table.

'Yeah, great,' he said without even glancing at the paper. He took a sip from his own glass of wine. 'Try it. It's really nice. French I think.'

He was pissing me off now. I did not come here to drink. I came here for a meeting.

I picked up the glass of wine and downed it.

He smiled, 'I thought you weren't drinking.'

'Just say what you want to say Tony. I know you don't care about the figures, or the meeting.'

He sat back and looked at me for a while.

'Get on with it Tony.'

'I wanted to apologize.'

I laughed. 'Really?'

'Yeah, I got this for you,' he held out a box and I pushed it away.

'I don't want presents Tony.'

'I want you to know that I'm sorry.'

I smiled as I had an idea.'Invest in the film,'

He thought about it for a while and then smiled back at me. 'You need this investment don't you ?'

'Not me personally.'

'Yes, you personally,' He laughed. 'OK.'

'OK?'

'Yeah, I'll invest… but you know investing in a film is a pretty big deal.'

I looked at him suspiciously. He was up to something.

'You owe me,' he said.

'I what? How do I owe you?'

'I'm doing you a favor here. A pretty big favor.'

I thought about telling him to stuff his stupid little deal, but he was right, I needed him to invest.

'I'm not sleeping with you,' I said.

He smiled, 'I figured, but you owe me.'

'I owe you what?'

'I dunno yet. We can figure something out later.'

'Fine,' I said. 'Two can play at this game,' I thought. 'Call for the papers first thing tomorrow and it's a deal.'

He smiled. 'Nice doing business with you Miss Edwards.' We shook hands.

I stood up to leave.

'Seriously though Maria, I want you to have this,' he held out the box again and I shook my head.

'It's a good thing that I'm not concerned about what you want then,' I said and walked out.


	20. Chapter 20 Tony

**_I'm doing something I'm calling the ASAD (A Song A Day) challenge for 10 days (1st to the 10th of August) to raise money for Keep A Child Alive, a totally worthy charity. _**

**_If you possibly can support me by sponsoring me per song, no matter how little, that would be totally awesome. Even just 10p per song is great (thats a pound if I manage to write a song everyday!). Every penny counts! _**

**_All the songs will go on youtube so you know I'm not cheating (like I would cheat anyway!)_**

**_This chapter is alot shorter, but to be fair I did warn you!_**

**_Keep your reviews coming guys. A bit low last chapter, but I won't complain. I love all you guys! Thanks!_**

* * *

'Three?' Pepper asked for the third time.

'Yeah. You know four minus one, comes after two. Three!'

'Let me get this straight, you gave the guy three thousand dollars for a necklace that wasn't even worth two?'

'No,' I said 'I gave the guy four thousand six hundred and eighty dollars, and I'm sure what the necklace is worth is debatable.'

She shook her head and was about to say something else that I didn't particularly weant to hear but I spoke first.

'I have a meeting now I think,' I said making my way upstairs and heading towards the meeting room.

'You need to change.'

I shook my head, 'Nah, I'm late.'

Pepper gave me a look and then shrugged.

I smiled,Pepper usually held out when it came to things like this. 'You're just gonna give up?' I asked her, 'Just like that?'

'You won't listen anyway,' she replied, 'You seem to be in a particularly defiant mood today.'

'OK.' I started to head off again. Pepper started talking.

'One thing though. I don't think Miss Edwards is going to be particularly impressed when you turn up 15 minutes late and not even wearing a suit.'

I laughed.'Pepper,' I said. 'Miss Edwards is _never_ impressed.'

I hated the meeting room. It was dull, dreary. I pushed the door to the room open.

'Good evening Mr. Stark.' It was Maria, and, as per usual she looked beautiful. I don't know what was up with the whole 'Mr. Stark' thing? Maybe she felt awkward after yesterday,or maybe she was trying to put some distance between us by making this all 'professional'. Either way there was something kind of sexy about it. I smiled.

'Hello Maria.'

'Well I have the…' She started to speak but I didn't want to start the meeting yet, in here.

'I don't like this room.Let's move.'

I walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

'I prefer my living room,' I said. She sat down on the other side of the sofa. 'Well no I prefer my workshop, or my bedroom but…'

She interrupted me. 'I have the fi..'

'Wine?' I asked. I poured myself a glass.

'I, no, I'm not drinking. What I was trying to say is…'

'Just a small one,' I insisted.I started pouring her a glass.

'No. Look ,what I was trying to say is that I have the figures that you asked for yesterday, here.'

She gave me a piece of paper and I gave her the glass. She put the glass down on the table.

'Yeah, great,' I said, putting the paper down. She wasn't drinking yet. 'Try it. It's really nice. French I think.'

She was iritated now, I could see it from her face. She picked up the glass of wine and downed it.

There was something kind of erotic about it, well just her being irritated in general really.I couldn't help smiling.'I thought you weren't drinking,' I said.

'Just say what you want to say Tony. I know you don't care about the figures, or the meeting.'

I looked at her for a while. 'I want to fuck you,' I thought.'That's what I want,what I need, but you won't let me it's and driving me crazy.'

'Get on with it Tony.'

I gathered my thoughts together and finally came out with.'I wanted to apologize.'

She laughed which wasn't the reaction I was expecting. 'Really?'

'Yeah, I got this for you,' I held out the box with the necklace I'd just got in and she pushed it away.

'I don't want presents Tony,' she said. How did I know something like this was going to happen?

'I want you to know that I'm sorry.'

Neither of us spoke for a while. Then, slowly a smile formed on her face.

'Invest in the film,' she said.

I considered it for a while. 'You need this investment don't you ?'

'Not me personally.'

'Yes, you personally,' I laughed, she messed up yesterday,and it was up to her to put things right again. 'OK.'

'OK?'

'Yeah, I'll invest… but you know investing in a film is a pretty big deal.'

She was looking at me, wondering what I was up to.

'You owe me,' I said.

'I what? How do I owe you?'

'I'm doing you a favor here. A pretty big favor.'

She was really mad, and it was so sexy. I knew she wouldn't refuse my offer,she needed me to invest too much. I had the advantage.

'I'm not sleeping with you,' she said.

'We'll see,' I thought but I just smiled and said, 'I figured, but you owe me.'

'I owe you what?'

'I dunno yet. We can figure something out later.'

'This,' I thought, 'Is gonna be fun.'

'Fine,' she said. 'Call for the papers first thing tomorrow and it's a deal.'

I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking two can play at this game. But really only one can play at this game, and that one was me, Tony Stark. True, she had been my hardest challenge yet but lets not forget I am probably , no, I am definitely the best at this on the whole planet.

Difficult victories seemed to have a way of tasting much sweeter than easy defeats. I knew Maria would taste the sweetest, and I wanted to taste her so badly. She was headstrong and determined, a worthy opponent, but she'd end up begging me for mercy, probably in my bedroom.

We locked eyes for a second and made a silent decleration.

This is war.

I smiled. 'Nice doing business with you Miss Edwards.' We shook hands. I loved touching her,even if it was just her hand.

She stood up.

'Seriously though Maria, I want you to have this,' I said, holding out the box again.

'It's a good thing that I'm not concerned about what you want then,' she said and walked out.

'Fair enough,' I thought, after all the battle had begun.

She walked out looking incredibly sexy, most probably unintentionally. How a girl like her could still be a virgin was beyond me. She was practically oozing sexuality, though she didn't seem to realise, which made her even more sexy.

'Pepper!' I called.

'Yes Mr. Stark!'

'Champaign, bring a glass for yourself.'

She walked in with a bottle and two glasses.

'What's the occassion?' she asked, pouring the champaign into the glasses. I noticed she put a significant amount less in hers, than in mine.

'Miss Edwards has just declared war,' I told her.

'That's something to celebrate?'

I smiled 'I know for a fact that I can build much better weapons than Miss Edwards.'

Pepper shook her head. 'I thought you'd given up on weapons.'

'Don't look so worried.'

She sighed, 'The thing with weapons Tony,' she said, 'Is that someone always ends up getting hurt.'


	21. Chapter 21 Maria

**_Hiya dudes!_**

**_I'm putting these two chapters up now because I might not be able to do any for a while hopefully it should only be a week though._**

**_OK I'm making a special request for reviews this time, 'cuz I've noticed I get less when I don't make a fuss. I just want to know what you guys think!! Getting worse? Better? Which charectors don't you like? etc..._**

**_Keep reading and reviewing!_** **_Need I say, you're all awesome?_**

* * *

I walked into the studio smiling. 'Cue the producers' I thought, 'in 5,4,3,2... '

'Maria. I knew you could do it, we've got Stark on the phone right now,' it was Mr. Baker. He shook my hand. 'Good job.'

I smiled at Mr. Lee who was standing behind Mr. Baker. Mr. Lee smiled back at me knowingly. They walked away, Baker continuing to talk about the investment, Lee just listening and agreeing where appropriate.

We shot a couple of scenes before lunch. Betty, the secretary was waiting to speak to me. 'Mr. Baker would like to talk with you,' she said.

I sighed. What did he want now? I mean seriously, I was on my lunch break.

'Is there something wrong? ' I asked him.

'No, nothing wrong,' he said. 'I just need you to take these to Stark.' He placed a wad of papers

that had been stapled together on the table, in front of me. I skim read the first page.

'Wait,' I said, realising what it was he was handing me, the contract. 'You want _me _to take this?'

'No, Stark wants you to take it.'

I shook my head, I should have guessed.

He flicked to the last page of the papers. 'He just needs to sign here, and here, and you sign here,' said Baker, 'Just bring the last page back with the signatures. The rest is for him to keep.'

I took the papers.

'You're fine with this?' Baker asked.

I smiled. 'Of course why wouldn't I be?'

The truth was, I wasn't fine with this. I was missing my lunch break to take a contract, which could have been taken by a whole load of other people, to a man that irritated me to no end. Unfortunately the truth was that the same man had done me a massive favour and I owed him, big time.

I put the papers in my bag and walked out.

'Back again?' said his PA smiling, though she looked a little uncomfortable.

'Tony wanted me to bring him a contract,' I explained.

She nodded 'I'll just get him for you, you can go through.'

I walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa . I nearly had a heart attack when I heard another woman's voice behind me.

'Hola senorita, I-I mean miss.'

I turned around expecting to find some girl Tony had slept with. Instead I found a maid in quite a slutty outfit cleaning up what looked like red wine on the carpet. I shook my head. Typical Tony.

'Mexican?' I asked her. I recognised her accent, it was like my mother's.

'Si,' she replied.

'So you're Tony's maid huh?'

'Si'

I couldn't think of a job I could hate more, especially wearing that slutty outfit, no it wasn't even an outfit, it was a costume. I bet he made her wear that. It was probably in the job description. It was disgusting, totally degrading.

'What do you think of Tony?' I asked her.

'He is very…' she thought about it for a while and eventually settled for 'nice.'

'Nice?' I laughed. 'He's a bastard,' I muttered in Spanish under my breath.

The maid started laughing. She'd obviously heard what I'd just said.

'You speak Spanish?' she asked me.

'A little, well enough to get my point across.'

'Your point being?' It was Tony.

I turned around. He was standing in the door way.

'How long have you been standing there?' I asked him.

'Not long,' he replied, he looked over to the maid, 'Ana you can go now, it's after one.'

'I am so sorry Mr. Stark, I completely lost track of the time,' she said apologetically.

He smiled, 'Don't worry about it.'

The maid, Ana, stood and approached the door. She turned to look at me, 'Adieus senorita,'

'Adieus,' I replied.

Then she looked at Tony who was still standing in the door way, blocking her exit 'Goodbye Mr. Stark,'

He stepped out of her way 'Bye Ana, you know the way out right?' He had his hand on her back, low down her back. I turned away, disgusted.

'Yes, I think so,' I heard her say.

'Good, I'll see you tomorrow then.'

Then he closed the door and came to sit down on the sofa beside me.

'So?' he asked.

'Do you make her wear that…costume?' I asked.

He smiled, 'You like it?'

I shook my head, 'Do you know how totally degrading that must feel, to have to wear that to work everyday?' Ana seemed like a nice girl. I was going to fight her corner.

'Don't worry I pay her extra for it.'

I sighed. He thought this was all about money. Not surprising really. He had a total lack of respect for women. He seemed to think that women had one purpose, and one purpose only.

Sex.

'He'll learn,' I thought, 'Eventually.'

'You know,' he said, 'I'm sure _you _could make that costume look better.'

I shot him a warning look. 'Tony!'

'What?' he said, 'I mean, you _do_ owe me.'

I scowled at him. 'Don't even think about it.'

He smiled his annoying little smile. 'Sorry, can't help it.'

'Could you please get your mind out of the gutter, just for a few minutes? Or if that's too much to ask for, at least keep your dirty little thoughts to yourself,' I asked. 'I don't like the idea of you fantasizing about me,' I said trying to keep my temper under control.

'Well you better get used to it, it's my new favourite hobby.'

I had my fists clenched now. 'Just wait until he's signed the contract. Then you can slap him,' I told myself taking a deep breath.

'I was doing it all last night,' he continued.

I was having to fight really hard to resist the urge to just lean over and slap him. He just had to keep pushing it, didn't he?

He looked at me. 'You want a drink?'

'Yes,' I said , 'I really, _really_ need a drink.'

He poured me glass and handed it to me. The alcohol helped me get my anger under control.

'You get irritated really easily you know.'

I smiled. It wasn't the first time I'd heard that.

'I'm guessing you came here for a reason other than to tell me what you think of the way I like my maid to dress,' he said.

I put the glass down on the table and he picked it up and started drinking from it.

'One thing first,' I said. He stopped drinking and looked at me.

'Yeah.'

'I'm not a messenger girl.'

'Uh Huh.'

'So please don't make a habit of getting me to bring things to you.'

'Maria, you owe me,' he said simply.

'Oh come _on_ !' I said irritated, 'I'm on my lunch break!'

He nodded.

'I have to _eat_ Tony!' I protested.

He shrugged, 'You can eat here. Or we could go out.'

I sighed, 'Just don't make a habit of it OK?' I said.

'I'm not planning to,' he replied, 'Not on your lunch break anyway. What time do you finish work ?'

I shook my head. Why did I do this deal with him? I ignored his question and got the contract out of my bag.

'You need to sign here and here,' I said laying the contract open at the last page and handing him a pen. He picked the contract up and turned to the first page.

I gave an irritated sigh. How the hell did his PA put up with this, on a regular basis ?

'What,' I said 'are you doing?'

'I need to know what I'm signing for.'

'You bloody well know what you're signing for.' He was pissing me off again. He flicked through the contract , got to the last page, signed, and then held out the pen.

'You sign here,' he said.

'I _know_ where I need to sign.'

I took the pen.

'I love it when you get all worked up,' he said softly, leaning into me as I signed the contract, 'It's sexy.'

He was close enough for me to smell him and he smelt _so_ good. I kept my mouth shut, afraid that I'd say something stupid.

I picked up the contract. He took it from me, his fingers brushing against mine briefly. His touch sent a pulse of electricity through my body and his scent was overwhelming me now. It was like my senses had gone into overdrive. I was finding it difficult to breathe, never mind gathering my thoughts together.

'What are you doing?' I managed to ask. He handed me back the last page of the contract.

'You just need that.'

I smiled without looking at him. I had the horrible feeling that if I did, I'd end up staring.

'I need to shake this off,' I thought, 'and quick.' I held my head in my hands, trying to concentrate.

'Maria, are you OK?' Tony asked.

'God! His voice is sexy' I thought. 'What the hell is wrong with me?'

I felt his hand on my back.

'Oh my God! This is too much,' I thought, freaking out, 'I can't handle this! I shouldn't _like_ this so much.' I stood up and took a deep breath, but the air was polluted with his scent.

'I-I'm fine. Just need to get something to eat,' I managed to say.

'Maria…' he started, but I couldn't manage much more conversation.

'Bye Tony!' I walked out as fast as I could. I needed air. Fresh, unpolluted air!

As soon as I got outside the room I took a long, deep breath. By the time I got outside I was wondering what the hell just happened.

'Must have been the alcohol' I thought, '_Must_ have been.'

There was no other explanation.

Was there?


	22. Chapter 22 Tony

The maid, was a solution to a problem. Well that was all I intended her to be, when I first had the idea, but naturally, ideas evolve.

The problem emerged late last night after Maria had gone. She left me feeling pretty… pumped, if you know what I mean.

'I need to go out,' I said to Pepper.

She shook her head, 'No.'

'No? What do you mean, no?' I asked.

'I mean, no!' she said firmly.

I sighed, how was I going to explain this to her.

'Pepper, I _need_ to,' I said, putting particular emphasis on the word need.

'No,' she said again.

'Pepper, I have to. It's not open for discussion.'

She groaned, irritated, 'Why? I've already changed your sheets twice this week.'

'I need to release,' I said, trying my hardest not to get too graphic.

'Can't you just phone dial-a-slut?' Phone sex? No! Especially not when I could have the real thing!

'OK Pepper,' I said 'The options are either a) you let me go out, or b) you don't let me go out and we bring a whole new meaning to personal assistant.'

She sighed, irritated. 'Fine! Go out! Do what you want, but don't expect me to be cleaning up after you in the morning!'

Then she walked out.

Anyway, I _did_ go out, and found a cute brunette who spent the night with me and when she'd gone, Pepper, as she said, did not change the sheets on my bed. That's when I thought, 'Hey, I'll just get a maid.'

I suggested this to Pepper.

'You want to get a maid?' she said.

'Yeah, so you can't try and tell me not to go out.'

'Tony,' she said 'I was a little irritated with you last night.'

She was going to try and talk me out of it now, and I was getting to really like the idea.

'I'm getting a maid ,Pepper.'

'Oh, are you now?'

I smiled 'Don't you like the idea of another woman being in the house?'

'I don't like the idea of some tartily dressed maid being in the house, everyday.' I laughed, that wasn't a bad idea.

I jotted down a description on a piece of paper, 'Find me a maid like that.'

She looked down at the paper. 'You do realise I wasn't being serious about the tartily dressed thing,' she said.

I shrugged, 'I was,' I replied and walked out.

About an hour later Ana had turned up. She was perfect and she kinda looked like Maria. She was perfect _because_ she kinda looked like Maria.

I called the studio, to arrange the investment first thing in the morning. No way was I losing this deal with Maria. They said they could get someone to bring the contract over at lunch which suited me fine. Later that morning I rang back to ask if the 'someone' who brought the contract over was Maria.

I left Pepper out of it. She wasn't happy about this whole business with Maria, and I wanted to be spared the lectures.

She came down to get me at about twenty past one. 'Miss Edwards is waiting for you,' she said and walked back up stairs. She didn't bring me coffee, which a sure sign that she was annoyed with me.

I got upstairs and stood in the doorway of the lounge watching Maria and Ana talking. Ana was sexy but she looked plain in comparison to Maria, who just looked, well, like a Goddess.

You speak Spanish?' Ana asked Maria.

'A little,' replied Maria 'Well enough to get my point across.'

'Your point being?' I asked.

She turned around.

'How long have you been standing there?' she asked.

'Not long,' I replied, 'Ana you can go now, it's after one.'

'I am so sorry Mr. Stark, I completely lost track of the time,'

I smiled 'Don't worry about it.'

Ana went to leave the room, turned to look at Maria, 'Adieus senorita,'

'Adieus,' replied Maria.

Then she turned to me 'Goodbye Mr. Stark,'

I moved so she could get past me. 'Bye Ana, you know the way out right?' I rested my hand on

her lower back. She was a hot, but nothing, I thought, compared to Maria.

'Yes, I think so,' replied Ana.

'Good, I'll see you tomorrow then.'

I closed the door behind her and went to sit down next to Maria

'So?'

'Do you make her wear that…costume?' Maria asked.

I smiled, 'You like it?'

'Do you know how totally degrading that must feel, to have to wear that to work everyday?'

'Don't worry I pay her extra for it.'

I imagined Maria in the costume, so much sexier.'You know, I'm sure _you _could make that costume look better,' I said to her.

She gave me a look. 'Tony!'

'What? I mean, you _do_ owe me.'

She gave me a nasty look. 'Don't even think about it.'

'Sorry, can't help it.'

'Could you please get your mind out of the gutter, just for a few minutes? Or if that's too much to ask for, at least keep your dirty little thoughts to yourself. I don't like the idea of you fantasizing about me.'

'Well you better get used to it,' I said. 'It's my new favourite hobby. I was doing it all last night.'

'While screwing some other woman senseless,' I added silently.

I looked at her, she was trying really hard not to lash out at me, I could see. 'You want a drink?' I asked her

'Yes,' she said , 'I really, _really_ need a drink.'

I poured her a glass of wine. She didn't down it like yesterday, much to my disappointment, I'd found that amazingly erotic for some reason.

'You get irritated really easily you know,' I said as she sipped the wine.

She didn't say anything, just smiled.

'I'm guessing you came here for a reason other than to tell me what you think of the way I like my maid to dress,' I said.

She put her drink down and I picked it up and started drinking. The fact that she'd just drunk from this glass, was, for some reason, a real turn on.

'One thing first,' she said.

I stopped.'Yeah.'

'I'm not a messenger girl.'

'Uh Huh.'

'So please don't make a habit of getting me to bring things to you.'

'Maria, you owe me.'

'Oh come _on_ !I'm on my lunch break! I have to _eat_ Tony!'

'You can eat here,' I said 'Or we could go out.'

She sighed,'Just don't make a habit of it OK?'

'I'm not planning to, not on your lunch break anyway. What time do you finish work?'

Maybe then I could get her drunk, and have my wicked way with her. No, it wouldn't be worth anything unless she really, _really_ wanted to .And she would, one day.

She ignored me and got something out of her bag. The contract.

'You need to sign here and here,' she said opening the contract at the last page and holding out a pen.

I picked up the contract and started reading it, hoping to annoy her.

'What, are you doing?'

'I need to know what I'm signing for.'

'You bloody well know what you're signing for.'

I pretended to actually be interested in what the contract said for a little while longer, before flicking to the last page and signing where I needed to.

'You sign here,' I said

'I _know_ where I need to sign,' she said irritated.

She took the pen and signed where she needed to.

I moved closer to her and said softly in her ear 'I love it when you get all worked up. It's sexy.'

I was expecting her to flip at this point, but she didn't. She just picked up the contract. I took it away from her, and tore off the last page. She didn't seem to be quite with it.

'What are you doing?' she asked after a while. I gave her back the page I'd just torn off.

'You just need that.'

She didn't look at me or say anything.

'What did I do?' I was thinking. Why was she acting so weird?

She had her head in her hands, something was wrong.

'Maria, are you OK?' I asked. I put my hand on her back, not because I was trying to come on to her, but because if there was something wrong I wanted to comfort her.

She stood up, probably thinking I was trying to come onto her.

'I-I'm fine. Just need to get something to eat,' she said, she sounded, and looked a little shaken.

'Maria…'

'Bye Tony!' she walked out and fast.

I tried to figure out what I'd done to make her act like this. Or maybe it was nothing to do with me. Maybe she just wasn't feeling so well. I wondered if I should go after her, or maybe she wanted to be alone. She seemed to be in a hurry to get out of here.

I sighed. Most probably it was her time of the month. I shook my head, 'Temperamental females!'


	23. Chapter 23 Maria

**_I said a week, but I think it was less. Not sure though! Correct me if I'm wrong._**

**_The whole thing with Tony being too much of a playboy/ not likeable enough... Fear not! I'm working on it! Obviously not in this chapter seeing as its Maria's point of view, but yeah!_**

**_Still lacking in reviews! Just leave one so I know you're still reading. (I know, there's a stats page for a reason, blah blah!) And those of you that have! What can I say? ROCK ON!!_**

**_I think I should thank Steph (todrownandburn) for helping with this chapter and letting me bounce my ideas off her!_**

**_Remember read AND review! Much love dudes! _**

* * *

My last meeting with Tony had been playing on my mind all week. I'd been happy to put it down to the alcohol, more than happy, but there was a part of my mind which wouldn't leave it at that. I was thinking about him way too much for my liking. It wasn't fair how he managed to irritate me, even when I wasn't with him. 'How dare he do this to me,' I thought. 'Why does he have to mess _my _life up? I haven't done anything to him.'But then, that was probably the reason why.

Well we were shooting off set, in New York, for the next few weeks, so that should take my mind off Tony for a while. I was thinking about this as we were boarding the plane.

'Smile,' said Marcus, 'It might never happen.'

I sighed, 'It already did.'

He looked at me.'Scared of flying?'

'No.'

'Well, you're doing better than me then.'

We got to our seats. He sat down and I sat next to him.

'You're scared of flying?' I asked.

He nodded. 'Heights in general, but flying's the worst.'

I frowned. 'Really? I thought you wanted to be a stunt man.'

'Note the use of the of the past tense. Pretty obvious why I gave up on that dream.'

I laughed.

He continued. 'So I figured if I couldn't actually _do _the stunts, I could film them instead.'

'I guess that makes sense. How bad is it?'

'How bad is what?'

'Your phobia.'

'Well, I've thrown up before.' He looked at my face. 'Don't worry. Only happened once.'

'Can't you take pills for it?' I asked.

He shook a box of sleeping pills. 'I already took two.'

I sighed. 'So I won't have anyone to talk to?'

'Sorry.'

'No. It's fine.' I said. 'I mean I wouldn't want you puking on me.'

'Could you do me a favour?' he asked.

'Yeah.'

'Don't wake me up until after touch down. It's the bit I hate most.'

I smiled. 'Sure. How long have I got until those kick in?' I asked, looking at the box of sleeping pills.

'I'd say about 20 minutes.'

I nodded.

They played us the safety video, which I completly failed to concentrate on. My mind wandered.

'On a scale of 1 to 10 how babymakeable is Tony Stark?' was the question that drifted into my head. I thought about it for a while. 'Oh my God! Did I just think about fucking Tony Stark?' I tried to turn my attention to the safety video.

'No alcohol to blame it on this time,' said the part of my mind that just would not drop this.

The pilot announced that we were about to take off which interupted my trail of thought, thank God!

I looked at Marcus. He looked really bad, really pale.

'You OK?' I asked him.

He took a deep breath. 'Yeah. I'm fine.'

'Anything I can do?'

He smiled at me weakly. 'I don't think so. Hopefully I'll pass out before I get to the point of throwing up.'

He was clutching the arm rest tightly. I put my hand on top of his.

'It's gonna be OK,' I told him.

'Uh Huh.'

'It's not like the plane's gonna crash or blow up or...' I stopped. 'Sorry that's not really helping ,is it?'

'Not really.'

I tried to think of something to take his mind off the flight.

'I heard you managed to get Tony Stark to invest in the film,' he said.

At this point I took my hand away from his and clenched my fists. Just hearing his name made me angry.

'Tony Stark!' I said,'Don't even get me started on Tony Stark!'

'I thought you two were, uh, friends.'

I didn't think about it at the time, but 'friends' could well have been a substitute for another word.

'Friends? How anyone can even put up with that arrogant, self centered, womanizing bastard, never mind being friends with him, is beyond me.'

'That bad, huh?' asked Marcus.

'Have you met this guy? He is so rude. He's twenty minutes late for a meeting and he just waltzes in like he's royalty or something, like the whole world revolves around him, like it doesn't matter that he's just wasted twenty minutes of our time waiting for him. And he doesn't appologise or anything because its all OK because he's Tony Stark, richest bastard in the whole of bloody America, so if he wants to waste our time, that's fine, no more than fine in fact.That's supposedly an honour or something. And he's such a perv. Seriously, I think he's actually incapable of thinking about anything other than sex for any substancial amounts of time. I mean he's even got his maid wearing some slutty little costume.And then I'm trying to have a meeting with him and he keeps bringing the subject back to sex, and oh my God... '

'Maria...'

'He just irritates me so much. I swear he does it on purpose, just to wind me up, 'cuz I won't sleep with him probably. He's such a fucking bastard. I mean, he thinks he can just sleep with anyone.Another girl every single bloody night. Well I'm not being anyones sex toy, so he can just fuck off and go find some whore to screw. '

'Yeah, Maria...'

'He's just like, 'Hey, look at me, I'm Tony Stark I can do whatever the hell I want. You know, waste people's time, shag another woman every night, blow up half the world and generally just be a bastard, and everyone just has to put up with that, 'cuz I'm Tony fucking Stark!'

'Ok, Maria...'

I went on for a little while longer, OK, quite a while longer.

'God! I hate him so much! I wouldn't have done this bloody deal with him if I had a choice, but you know what Baker's like.'

Marcus didn't say anything. I looked over at him. He was sleeping.

I sighed 'Brilliant.'

I attempted to watch the film they were showing but I couldn't concentrate, my mind kept going back to the same thing.

Tony. Fucking bastard.


	24. Chapter 24 Tony

I'd left it for a week. I wasn't really sure what I should do, after what had happened last time. I'd put it down to hormones, but I wasn't really convinced.

If she'd just been angry, or if she'd just ignored me, I would have understood, but she'd looked scared, panicky and kind of upset, when she'd walked out. She couldn't get out fast enough.

I couldn't see how I'd done anything to provoke that kind of reaction. It just didn't make sense.

I couldn't get her off my mind.I wanted to know that she was OK, find out what the hell last time was about, and I wanted to hear her beautiful sexy voice again. I tried calling her a few times throughout the morning. She didn't pick up.

'She's ignoring me,' I said as I put the phone down for the last time.

'She may just have her phone switched off, sir,' suggested Jarvis.

'Yeah, because she doesn't want to talk to me.'

'There are a whole list of other possibilities ,sir,' reasoned Jarvis. 'Her phone may have charged down or she may be in an area where phones are not permitted or...'

'Or she could just be ignoring me.' I gave an irritated sigh. 'She can't just do this!' I probably sounded like a sulky little kid, but I couldn't help it. I was annoyed. She wasn't answering my calls, and she didn't even know what I wanted to say yet. I just wanted to see if she was OK. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so.

I turned up my music and sat down at my desk. I didn't want to work. I didn't want to do anything, except speak to Maria.Well actually that wasn't completely true, I'd be quite happy to do a lot of things with Maria right now.

One of the great things about having my own company was that I could work when it suited me, no interruptions, with the exception of Pepper. Equally, I had no one telling me what to do, and when I should do it, so I could pretty much do what I wanted. Even if that meant nothing at all. Like right now.

'She can't do this,' I thought. 'We did a deal. She owes me. She can't just ignore me like this.' Maybe she was _trying_ to irritate me. Give me a taste of my own medicine. Maybe I shouldn't wind he up so much, but she was so God damn sexy when she was worked up.

I'd tried to wind her up last time, but it kind of back fired on me at the end. I remembered the look on her face. I really wanted to find out what was wrong, see if she was OK. God! I wanted her here in my arms right now. I just wanted to hold her.

I heard the music fade away.

Pepper.

I really couldn't be bothered with answering questions, and signing papers at the moment.

'Pepper, can it wait? I'm busy right now.'

She didn't say anything for a while. I guessed she was looking at me, trying to figure out what exactly it was that I was doing, which, considering that I wasn't really doing much, was quite a difficult task.

'Busy doing what?' asked Pepper.

I didn't answer. I hoped she'd just go away and come back later.

'Jarvis, what is he doing?' asked Pepper.

'I believe he's sulking , Miss Potts.'

Sulking? Damn computer!

Pepper looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I didn't say anything.

'Sulking about what?' she asked.

'It most probably has something to do with the fact that Miss Edwards is not not picking up his calls.'

I thought about going to Jarvis' central processing unit and doing a bit of... 'reprogramming'. The most annoying thing was that Jarvis had it spot on.

Pepper looked at me. 'Tony, tell me you haven't been calling Maria all morning.'

'What if I have?' I asked, slightly annoyed. I didn't see why she had a problem with it anyway.

I was half expecting her to give me an unwanted lecture, but she didn't. She probably knew that it would only make my resolute even stronger.

Instead she shook her head and sighed. 'You're not going to give up are you?' she said.

'Pepper, you should know me well enough by now to know that I don't give up.'

'Have you considered that maybe Miss Edwards is just as stubborn?'

'I'll break her,' I said, laughing to myself at the double meaning.

'Or,' said Pepper, 'You'll hit a dead end. That's if you haven't already.'

I shrugged.

She sighed. 'Well, have you finished sulking yet Mr. Stark?' she asked me.

'Not quite,' I replied. I wasn't ready to do any paperwork yet.

'I'll come back in a few minutes then,' she said,placing a cup of coffee on my desk, before heading back upstairs.

I thought about what Pepper had just said. Maybe she was right. Maria did seem to be a very determined person. I mean she had to be, being that sexy, but still a virgin. I think that was part of what attracted me to her. I liked a challenge.She'd been more difficult than I'd anticipated, but she was worth fighting for, and my God, I would fight. I wanted her more than I'd ever wanted anyone. I knew we'd most probably battle it out, right until the end, whatever that may be. I wasn't even sure what I wanted it to be anymore.

It was possible that Pepper was right. Maybe I'd hit a dead end, but I wasn't going to give up .No chance. What else could I do though? Except wait. And how long would I have to wait for. I didn't like waiting.

'I'm stuck,' I announced.

'What seems to be the problem, sir?' asked Jarvis.

'The problem?' I laughed, thinking about how Jarvis would answer this one.

'How the hell do you solve a problem like Maria?'


	25. Chapter 25 Maria

_**I updated quick and this is one of my longer chapters! I think I deserve a review for that at least!**_

_**Thankyou to all you guys who have left reviews. I didn't do to bad last chapter, even though I only put it up yesterday.I'm pushing for a few more this time though! Go on, leave a review! You know you want to!**_

* * *

I'd been keeping busy in New York. I'd been shopping, maybe being just a little too careless with my money. I'd been down to Harlem, to visit my mother. It didn't go brilliantly well, but then me and my mother never really got on. I'd met up with some of my old friends. I'd laid flowers on my Dad's grave. I'd done loads of things.

Well, it wasn't everyday that I was in New York, I was just trying to make the most of it while I was here, or at least that's what I kept telling myself. Maybe I was just trying to keep my mind off Tony. If that was my real agenda then it had been working pretty well, as long as my eyes were open.

He'd invaded my subconscious. I don't think there had been a night where I hadn't dreamed about him. They weren't exactly clean dreams either. They were dirty, filthy dreams, dreams where I let or even _wanted_ Tony to treat me like his little love slave,and I hated myself for having them.I always felt bad in the morning ; ashamed, disgusting. Well I say always, but there had been I few days when I'd woken up and wanted to go back to sleep again,back to the dream,I'd felt bad about it later though.

Sometimes, when I was just about to fall asleep I'd find myself wanting to be with him, wanting him to wind me up the way he always did, wanting to be able to smell him again, feel his skin against mine,wanting to get lost in his deep dark eyes, like I was actually missing him, I mean how screwed up was that? God! I hated him so much! I mean I'm 2500 odd miles away and I still can't be free of him.I hated him for doing this to me, messing with my mind.

That night was one of the worst, the dream was so vivid, so real.I could still hear myself saying, well, moaning the treacherous words when I woke up 'I love you Tony!I love you!'.I felt angry, not with myself, with Tony. This was his fault! Couldn't he just leave me alone?

We'd finished shooting in New York.I'd be back in California tomorrow, there was a possibility I might see him again. The dreams tonight would be worse. I wasn't looking forward to it. I was going to kill him for this when I got back!Obviously I wouldn't let him know about the dreams, he'd be feeling really pleased with himself if he knew that he'd got inside my head. I would sort this out. Hopefully it would just go away when I got back to CA, but tonight! Oh God! I really wasn't looking forward to tonight!

My mind was occupied the whole day. We'd left the whole of the last day free, for sight seeing and although I'd grown up in New York I decided to tag along anyway. I didn't have much else to do, and I knew that if I left my mind to its own devices I'd just be thinking about _him._ Bastard!

It was about 5 when we got back. I'd packed away most of my stuff, we'd be flying back tomorrow morning.I'd already decided that I was going to have to go out tonight, get as little sleep as possible, try and avoid the inevitable. I'd have to find a good club. It had been a long time since I'd been clubbing in New York, but hey, I had all night! Well that's what I thought, until I got a phone call from Lilly and Poppy.

I picked up the phone. 'Ria! You're in Now York right?' it was Lilly.

No hello then? 'Hi, Lilly. Yes I'm in New York.'

She practically screamed when I said that. 'Oh my God! That is _so _cool!'

'OK,' I was thinking,'What the hell?'

'Told you so,' I heard Poppy say in the background.

'Are you busy tonight?' Lilly asked me.

'Not really.' I wished I was.

'Oh my God! You have to come to this party. It's gonna be like so awesome and...'

'Wait! I'm in New York,' I said.

'Yeah! So are we!'

'You're in New York?'

'Yeah, we flew over for the party tonight.' They flew over for a party? There were more than enough parties in California. That was just crazy, but then this is Lilly and Poppy we're talking about.'You have to come, please, please...'

'Yeah OK, fine, but ...'

'Seriously?' asked Lilly.

I usually wouldn't agree to something like this, but the alternative was going out clubbing on my own, which didn't sound like much fun.

'Yeah seriously, but you need to give me details; Time, place, dress code?'

'I bet she doesn't have a dress,' I heard Poppy say.'We can get Ricco to lend her one. We need to go get ours anyway.'

'Can we meet you at six, go get you a dress and stuff? You're in Manhattan right?'

'Yeah but...' I really just wanted to get the details off them, find out what kind of party this was.

'Meet us in Starbucks at 6, Lexington Avenue.' I wasn't really sure where that was, but I could get a directions, or a cab.

'OK, but you still haven't given me any details.'

'We'll talk about it then! Ria, this is gonna be so fun! See you!'

'Lilly...'

She'd put the phone down. I wanted to get some idea of what kind of party I'd just agreed to go to. I sighed, well at least I had something to do.

I left my room and headed off down to reception, to find out where about Lexington Avenue was.10 minutes by cab apparently. I went back upstairs, grabbed my credit card,a couple of notes from my purse and my phone. I didn't really want to be carrying much, I was planning on bringing a small bag.Luckily the doors to the hotel rooms were code activated so I didn't need to bring keys.

I left the hotel at about quarter to six. Lilly and Poppy were waiting for me when I got to Starbucks.

'You want a coffee?' asked Poppy.

'No, I'm good thanks.'

'Cool let's go then.' Lilly put her arm out for a taxi.

We got in to the taxi. Lilly gave the address.

'You still haven't told me anything about this party,' I said. I wanted to have some idea of what exactly this party would be like.

'What's there to tell ? It's just a party, ' replied Poppy. I sighed and was about to try and get some details out of them but Poppy spoke first.

'Anyway, how come you're in such a good mood?'

Such a good mood? What the hell? What I was thinking must have shown on my face.

'Oh come on,' said Lilly, 'You agreed to come to the party straight away. You _never _do that.The fact that you agreed at all must mean you're in a good mood about _something._ '

I laughed, they had no idea. 'Just 'cuz I agreed to this, does not mean I'm in a good mood.'

They both looked at me unconvinced. 'Come on, spill!'

They weren't going to drop it until I gave them an answer they were satisfied with.

'We finished shooting,' I said, hoping that they'd be happy with that explanation.

'No,it's something else.'

'Something else like what?' I asked. I couldn't think of any more excuses.

'Like...a guy.'

Tony sprung to mind. 'No,' I replied.

'Oh my God! It is! Who is it, do we know them?' Lilly asked.

I shook my head. 'There is no guy.'

Poppy smiled, 'Oh I see,' she looked over at Lilly. 'She's trying to take her mind off him.'

Oh my God. How did she figure that out?

'I'm right, aren't I?'

I looked away. There wasn't much point in lying, Lilly and Poppy could usually tell when I was, but no way was I going to admit to it either.

'Why would you wanna do that?' Lilly asked.

'You know what Maria's like. She's so stubborn that she doesn't even want to admit to herself that she's got feelings for this guy.So she's just hoping that if she ignores it long enough, it'll just go away.'

'That is not it!I do _not_ have feelings for him!' I said, 'He's just a bastard OK ? '

'Bastard, that you have the hots for,' said Lilly under her breath.

'I do _not_ have the hots for him!'

Lilly smiled. 'You _so _do.'

Poppy looked at her, 'Don't wind her up Lil.'

'He's a self centered, sex obsessed, low life, and I do _not_ have the hots for him. Why would I ?'

We didn't talk much after that, until we got to Ricco's house.

A woman opened the door for us and showed us in. Ricco came through just a few minutes later. He was one of those men that you couldn't help wondering if they were gay.

He spoke with a strong Italian accent, 'So how are my lovely ladies?' He asked putting his arms around Lilly and Poppy. They kissed him on the cheeks.

'Hi Ricco,' they said in unison.

'I see you brought one of your beautiful friends with you,' he said looking at me.

I smiled.

'Maria needs a dress,' explained Poppy, 'and we were just wondering...'

'To have three beautiful models wearing my creations would be absolutely fabulous,' he said. I got it now. He was a designer.

'Oh, Maria's not a model,' said Lilly.

'Not a model? Then you're in the wrong profession. What do you do darling?' he asked me.

'I'm a film director.'

'Film director? Well, I wish you the best of luck, but if you are ever looking for a career change I'd be quite happy having you model my dresses.'

I smiled to myself. There was no way that I would ever be a model, considering that I was camera shy. It wasn't something that appealed to me in the least. I loved the job I had anyway, which was just as well, because I'd worked like crazy to get where I was.

Lilly and Poppy got their dresses first. The dresses were identical except for the color. Lilly wore pale pink and Poppy wore baby blue.

'And now,' said Ricco, 'A dress for Maria.Colors, colors, colors...'

Poppy looked at me, I didn't realize I was supposed to be answering to that. 'Uh, how about... black!' Black was a safe color, I'd be OK in black.

He looked at me, 'Black? Why wear black when you can pull off almost any color? We could have you in green or fushia, or gold...' He looked at me. 'How about white?'

'White?' I asked. I wasn't really sure about that. I'd never worn a white dress before.

'Yes, white will be fabulous. I have the perfect dress.'

He brought out a short floaty white dress.

'I can't wear that!'

'Of course you can. Try it on,'

He left me to get changed. I looked at myself in the mirror. It looked better on than off, but I wasn't sure about white.

'Maria you look amazing,' Lilly said.

'Like an angel, no?' said Ricco.

'I'm not sure...' I started.

Poppy interrupted, 'That's what you always say,' she looked to Ricco, 'So it's OK if she borrows this?'

'Of course my darlings.'

'Well, we should go and get shoes,' said Lilly.

Lilly and Poppy spoke with Ricco for another 20 minutes before we left. We went and got shoes which took forever and a day and then back to Lilly and Poppy's hotel room. They insisted I let them do my hair and make up . I agreed, just to humor them

'I'm thinking au natural,' was the first thing Poppy said that made me wonder if I'd just made a huge mistake.

They washed my hair and let it dry naturally, which I rarely did. I usually blow dried it to get it straight, anyway I let that one go. It was when they got to my make up, or lack of it, that I started making a fuss.

'Is that it?' I asked.

Lilly smiled, 'Yep, you're all done.'

'But you haven't done anything!' I protested.

'Eye shimmer, lip gloss and mascara, which you didn't really need anyway cuz your lashes are so dark!'

I looked at them in despair, 'Foundation? Eyeliner? Blusher?'

'You don't need it.'

I shook my head and found some eyeliner.

Poppy took it from me.'No you don't!'

'Oh come on!' I didn't like this au natural business. It was fine for going to work, or if you were running late, but for a party?

'Time to go! We're getting a lift!' said Lilly grabbing my arm.

'You guys are evil!'

Poppy smiled, 'You have no idea!'

Our lift was a Rolls Royce, which made me wonder again exactly what kind of party this was, but Lilly and Poppy seemed to be insistent on not telling me. 'Well, its got to be better than the alternative' I reminded my self.I was wrong, so wrong!

'Your name's down on the guest list,' Poppy just as we arrived.

'OK,' I said, and then looked out the window. There were cameras, and lots of them.

'Oh my God!' I said. 'Oh my God! I can't do this!' Now I knew why they wouldn't tell me about the party. They knew full well I was camera shy.

'You're evil! Really evil!' I said

'It's good practice,' said Lilly, 'Come on.'

'No way! I'm not! I can't!'

Lilly grabbed my arm but I wouldn't move. 'I can't! You don't understand!'

'The best way to overcome your fear is to face it!' said Poppy.

'That,' I said, 'Is a load of crap. And you know it.'

They practically dragged me out of the car.

'Please don't make me do this!' This ,I imagined, is what a bunny in the headlights must feel like. I wanted to just drop dead.

'Maria, come on.'

'I'm not doing this!' I said. They tried to pull me along with them but I wouldn't, no,I couldn't move.

They looked at each other, 'Fine,' they said and walked off, stopping every now and then and posing for the cameras.

I couldn't believe that they'd just left me here. Some friends I had! I actually couldn't move. The lights, the cameras, it was just too much!I thought I was actually going to pass out.

'Dear God!' I prayed silently, 'I know that I don't go to church and that and I know that half the time I don't believe in you, but if you're there I really really need your help right now, please. '

At that moment someone, put their arm around me.

'Hey Maria,I wasn't expecting to see_ you _tonight!'

'You have got to be kidding me!' I thought.I'd figured it out now though. God doesn't hate me! He just has a really warped sense of humor.


	26. Chapter 26 Tony

_**Sorry it's been so long. Seems like forever ago doesn't it? **_

_**Ok, well this one I'm dedicating to WarriorPrincess122, for inspiring me and 'cuz I said I would. Sorry it's not a long one, but it's something to keep you going. Leave me a review just to say hi. It's been a while.**_

_**Love you all, you awesome people!**_

* * *

The mission was a simple one.

Seek and destroy.

The Metallica song blared through the internal speakers of the Iron Man suit the spurring me on. Not that I needed much spurring on.

This was my responsibilty. I was following this thing through right to the bitter end, no matter how difficult it would be or how much Pepper, or anyone else, hated it.

Even if it killed me.

And that really wasn't that unlikely.

I decided not to dwell on that thought.

I'd never been to North Korea.

Apparently I had some pretty big fans there. Well, fans of my weapons.

I thought it was about time I payed them a little visit. You never know, we might just get on like a house on fire.

Might even be a few fireworks at the end of the night.

You know, if the relationship was that... _explosive._

"Hey Jarvis what's the night life like in Pyongyang?"

"Planning on a night on the town are we, sir ?"

I smiled. "Do you think the language barrier would get in the way too much?"

"In the way of what exactly ,sir?"

"You're answering my questions with questions. Not helping. You know what just forget it, just turn up the music Jarvis."

_Running,_

_On our way,_

_Hiding,_

_You will be,_

_Dying,_

_A thousand deaths._

_Searching,_

_Seek and destroy._

_Searching,_

_Seek and destroy._

The music faded away.

"You have an incoming call sir," Jarvis informed me, "From Miss Potts."

Pepper.

"Put her through," I said, wondering if I would regret it.

Probably.

"Tony, where are you?" She sounded calm but I could pick up on the underlying frustration.

"Me ? I'm uh..." I trailed off, trying to make sense of what Jarvis had just flashed up on the HUD.

_You've got to be kidding me._

"You have two MiG-29's closing in on you, sir," Jarvis told me, reiterating what I'd just read on the screen.

"No shit," I muttered although I wasn't sure I quite believed it. Seriously, what were the chances?

I heard Pepper's voice, but my mind wasn't able to process what she'd said. I was too busy trying to figure out some kind of strategy. Last time I'd had fighter jets after me they nearly took me out.

Mind you this time I didn't have to worry about what damage I caused. If they were after me they had to be the bad guys right? Everyone knew what Ironman stood for by now,surely?

"Tony!" She'd raised her voice, yeah, she was pissed.

"Huh?"

"You need to be here, now."

"Yeah well that might be... slightly impossible." I mumbled. "Jarvis can you I.D those jets?"

I knew they were getting close now but I needed to know that these things were actually against me, before blowing them out of the sky. That was if they didn't blow me out of the sky first.

"I.D what? Tony what are you doing? What do you mean by 'slightly impossible'?"

I chose to ignore her. Explaning was probably not a good idea. I remembered what someone had told me once, before a press conference I think-If in doubt keep your mouth shut. I'm not sure it had the desired effect at the time because most of the time I wasn't 'in doubt'.

Just contraversial.

"I'm afraid I can't I.D those planes sir, but I can tell you that they have most definatly been purchased illegally," Jarvis told me. That was about as much as I'd suspected.

"Tony, what's going on? Where are you?"

I ignored her again.

"I've just had a very irrate Miss Edwards on the phone."

Maria?

That caught my full attention.

Probably why she said it.

"She's not happy Tony."

"Is she ever ?" I commented. I couldn't help but smile just thinking about her getting all worked up.

"Tony, this isn't a joke." Obviously she could hear the smile in my voice."This will be the third meeting you've canceled this week."

"Yes." Well what was I supposed to say to that? I had more important things on my mind at the moment like trying to stay alive.

And Maria.

"Well Tony, I just hope for your sake that you have a good excuse."

"How about saving the world? Is that a good enough excuse?" Never mind fighting off two MiG-29's.

There was a brief pause as she registered what I'd just said.

"Saving the world? Tony, please tell me you're not-"

"Sorry Pepper. Gotta go."

Strangely enough I suddenly felt a huge sense of relief that I was here being targeted by two fighter jets rather than back in California in a meeting with Maria. How I was going to explain to her about having less than half the CGI work done I still hadn't figured out.

'I've been busy' probably wouldn't cut it.

She was _really_ viscous when she wanted to be. Fighting off two jets _had _to be easier.

I hadn't intended to miss the meeting (again). In truth it had completley slipped my mind. But actually this was all working out quite nicely.

Until next time I had to see her.

_Ouch._

It hurt just thinking about it.

I ended the call wondering which of the following three would be the most difficult; dealing with Pepper, dealing with the two MiG-29's closing in for the kill or dealing with Maria.

I was betting on the third, but between the first and third it was a close call.

The second?

No chance.


	27. Chapter 27 Maria

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_**Hi! Sorry it took me a while to write this one. I had some(lots of) problems with it**_. _** I'm still not sure about it but I've spent long enough on it.****Really want to know what you think of this chapter so please, PLEASE review.**_

_**OK now I should say thanks to; **_

_**my brother for his one little quote 'Starky boy' (he insist I'm a 'pikey' unless I mention that it was his line.)**_

_**Steph for helping me get some ideas and putting up with my incessant moaning.**_

_**my 'friend' Tom for giving me some of his cheesy chat up lines and letting me use his name (he didn't actually agree to me using his name but never mind)**_

**_ and last but not least, all you guys who leave reviews. Thanks for inspiring me to keep writing._**

* * *

'I can't believe that you just did that to me! You just left me there! You're supposed to be my _friends_ and...'

Poppy interrupted me. 'Ria we _are _your friends.'

'No! No you're not, because friends don't do things like that! I would never do anything like that to you. _Never! _'

The guy that Lilly and Poppy had been talking to backed away slightly. 'Well, I'll just leave you guys to it!' he said and walked off.

'How do you think I felt, when you just left me there? Just abandoned me?'

They looked at each other.

'Look, Ria we're really sorry. We didn't know...' started Lilly.

'No!' I shouted, 'You knew! You just didn't care! You just left me there, looking like an idiot,and I had to wait to be rescued, like some stupid damsel in distress, by Tony Stark. Tony fucking Stark !'

Poppy smiled, 'So this is about Tony?'

'No!' I said, even though part of it was. The way I'd just acted around him was quite frankly embarrassing. I was supposed to hate this guy and yet I was just pressing myself against him. It didn't make any sense! The part of my mind that just would not drop what had happened last time I'd seen him was driving me crazy!

'This is about _you _bringing me to a high profile party, when you _know _full well that I'm camera shy, and then, as if that isn't bad enough, you just abandon me when I need you most!'

'Oh come on Ria...' They were both smiling. They obviously found it funny.

'You don't actually care do you?'

'Of course we do.'

I shook my head. 'All you care about is how many guys you can get off with in one night. You pathetic slutty little bitches.'

They both looked stunned. I'd never said anything like that to them before.I turned away. I didn't want to speak to them anymore.

'Ria...' it was Poppy.

'Don't talk to me. Don't you ever fucking talk to me again!'

This was one of the worst nights of my life. I'd only gone to this party to keep my mind off Tony, and turns out that he's at the fucking party. Plus my two 'best friends' abandon me while I'm surrounded by cameras, knowing full well that I'm camera shy and as a result I end up practically begging Tony to walk inside with me and pressing myself against him as he takes me through the crowds of cameras.

I was angry. Angry with the twins. Angry with Tony, though not for any rational reason. Angry with the fucking paparazzi. And so fucking angry with myself. How did I let this happen? I didn't know how I was ever going to look Tony in the eye again, not that I did much before, but that's not the point. And I still owed him. I owed him twice now. And the pictures! God! I was not going to be looking in the tabloids tomorrow.

'Oh God!' I thought. 'I need to get pissed.'

I went to the bar and sat down. I figured I'd be here for a while.

'What can I get you?' asked the bartender.

'Something strong. Anything. How about whiskey.'

The bartender laughed. 'Bad day huh?'

'Bad night.'

'What do you want it with?'

'Give it to me straight.'

The man looked a little surprised. He poured me a small glassful which I drank in next to no time.

'Can I have a refill?' I asked.

'Already?' He filled my glass. 'What happened?'

I took a sip from my glass and sighed. 'My best friends just forced me to humiliate myself in front of some guy.' Well that was the cut and edited version of it.

'Don't worry. I doubt whatever you did will put him off a beautiful lady like you.'

'No. It's not like that. I don't like him. I hate him. He's such a fucking bastard.' It was like I was trying to convince myself more than anything else.

'Maria,' it was Tony, speak of the devil. Oh God! I really didn't want to talk to him.I finished my glass and asked for a refill.

'Hitting the bottle pretty hard, aren't we?' he said.

'You can talk.' I knew I should be nicer to him. He'd just helped me out big time ,but I was angry and not really thinking very rationally.

'Maria I...'

'Don't talk to me Tony. I really don't need advice on how much I should be drinking from an alcoholic.'

He looked a little confused. It reminded me off the first time we'd met.

'Sorry. Have I missed something?'

There was part of me yelling ' What is your problem Maria? He just helped you out! Why can't you just be nice to him? What are you trying to prove? What are you scared of ?' Scared of? What the hell? I ignored it.

'OK. Let me make this easy for you. If you talk to me again tonight you'll end up not only getting slapped but also with my drink over your head. Got it?'

He nodded, 'Loud and clear.Can I just...'

I picked up my glass.

He held up his hands. 'I just think you should slow down!'

'Tony. I'm warning you.'

He backed away. 'OK! OK! I'm gone!'

I could feel myself getting a little tipsy,but I wasn't drunk yet. 'Why am I not pissed yet?' I thought. 'I just want to get pissed.' I didn't want to remember anything that happened tonight, in the morning.

I moved onto shots. Tequila.

'Oh my God! I love this song!' I said to the bartender. I was slurring my words. 'I wanna dance!'

And then I was on the table, dancing. I didn't know how I'd got there, and I didn't really care.

I think it's fair to say that by this point I was pissed.

I was surrounded by men, watching me dance and cheering me on. I looked down at them as I danced. Some of them were pretty cute, but I wasn't dancing for them. I was just dancing for one man. It only mattered if one man saw me.

'Tony.' I whispered his name to myself. I closed my eyes, letting myself get lost in the music and imagining that he was standing right in front of me, watching me.

Tony; it suddenly seemed like the most gorgeous, wonderful, sexy name that I'd ever heard.

The song changed and I stopped dancing. A few guys helped me off the table. More than were necessary. It was probably just an excuse for them to get their hands on me, but I was too pissed to care.

I went back to the bar. Where I got a lot of male attention, but there was really only one guy I wanted to see. I couldn't get him off my mind. 'Tony Stark. Tony Stark. God! Don't you just love that name?' I was thinking. 'What is there not to like? Sexy smell, sexy eyes, sexy lips, sexy body, sexy voice.'

'Wow!'

I turned around. A tall dark guy was standing behind me, looking at me.

'I know milk does a body good, but damn...How much have you been drinking?'

I giggled. 'You're funny.'

'You're sexy.' He leaned a little closer to me and lowered his voice. 'I'm fighting the desire to make you the happiest woman on earth'

'You wanna fuck me?' I asked, still giggling.

'I wanna do a lot of things to you, sexy lady.'

He was close to me now

'What kinda things?'

'You know what kinda things.'

I shook my head,smiling. 'Tell me what you wanna do to me.'

He laughed 'You just want me dirty talking to you don't you? You kinky little girl. That's OK. I like kinky.'

I started giggling again 'You're funny Tony.'

'Tom,' he corrected me, 'Who's Tony?'

'You're not Tony?' I asked confused.

'Maria!'

My heart started racing the second I heard his voice, his impossibly sexy voice.

I turned to look at him 'Hey Tony!' I said running my hand through my hair.

Tom looked at him. 'So you're Tony. Tony Stark.'

Tony ignored him.'Maria, I think its time for you to go now.'

'It's fine. I'm taking care of the lady,' said Tom.

Tony laughed, 'I don't think so.'

'Well it's not up to you, is it?'

'Maria...' said Tony.

Tom took a step towards him. It was obvious that if the two of them got into to a fight Tony would win. Tom was scrawny in comparison to Tony. Tony was more muscular, sexier. I giggled.

'Listen Starky boy...' started Tom.

'Tom,' I said. He looked at me. 'You're not gonna win.'

He glared at Tony for a while and then walked off.

I giggled and then asked for another shot.

'Maria don't you think you've had enough?' said Tony.

'Enough?' I said, taking the shot.I couldn't help looking at his lips, thinking about kissing him. He was so sexy and I was so turned on.

He looked at me cautiously, although I didn't know why.

I downed the shot.

'Same again,' I said to the bartender.

'Maria. I really think you should stop now.'

'Just one more.'

He took the shot which the bartender had just put down on the bar for me.

'I think it's time for you to go home now.'

'Oh come on Tony,' I ran my hand down his chest. God! He was so sexy! I wanted to see him with his shirt off. I wanted to see him with all his clothes off, so I could really see his sexy body. 'Just one more. Just _one._'

He took my hands away from his chest. 'And then you'll go home?'

'To my hotel,' I corrected him. He handed me the shot. I could smell him now. 'You smell _so_ good you know,so sexy. You always do.'

'You are so pissed.'

I ignored him and downed the shot. 'I wanna dance.'

He laughed.'You've done plenty of dancing tonight.'

'Not with you. Come on.' I grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

'You're going back to your hotel after this OK?'

I pulled his arms around my waist so he was holding me. I only wanted to dance with him so he'd hold me.

'Why do you want to get rid of me so much?' I asked him.

I put my arms around his neck and pulled myself close to him.

'Honestly, you'll thank me in the morning.'

We danced for a little while. I got a little lost in his eyes, his gorgeous deep dark eyes. I wondered what it would be like, making love and staring into those eyes.

'I don't even know how I'm getting back,' I said after a while.

'You need a lift?'

God! His voice! 'So sexy,' I murmured.

'Maria?'

'What?'

'Yes or no?'

'What?' I couldn't remember what he'd asked me.

'Do you need a lift home?'

'Yeah.' I wanted him closer to me. 'Can't you hold me a little bit tighter?'

He did, but not tight enough.

'Tighter,' I whispered to him. Instead he loosened his grip on me.

'Time to go,' he said.

'Not yet,' I protested. 'Let me just have a taste.'

He looked at me bewildered

'Wha...?'he started, but I'd pressed my lips against his before he could finish. His lips were soft, softer than I'd expected.He tasted even better than he smelt.

He pulled me closer to him, kissing me back. One of his hands wandered up my back while the other kept a firm hold on my waist.

My senses went into overdrive. His gorgeous scent overwhelmed me and I could feel something, almost like electricity running through my body. It felt so good being this close to him but I wanted to be closer. I didn't want anything between us.

I moaned slightly as he pulled me closer so I was pressed tight against his chest. Oh God! It felt amazing.The kiss grew more intense, our tongues almost wrestling with each other. I'd never ever been kissed like this before. I just wanted more, needed more, and so did he, it seemed.

Suddenly he pulled away leaving every part of me longing for more.

'Don't stop!' I said breathily, recovering from the kiss. I went to kiss him again but he pushed me away.

'We need to go now.' He seemed to have recovered much more quickly, but I supposed he'd done this many more times than I had, so he probably had more 'stamina'.

'Tony,' I said quietly moving closer to him again.

I ran just one finger slowly down his chest. I wanted him so badly. We stared into each others eyes for a little while. I could feel something hard and round in his chest. I wandered what it was. I started circling around it with my finger. He started breathing more deeply, it was so sexy. He was turning me on so much and he didn't even know it. I smiled.

'Stop it Maria.' He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away from his chest.

'Sensitive,' I said softly.

He looked away from me.

'Kiss me Tony,' I whispered, 'Please.'

'We're going now,' he said firmly.

Well if he wouldn't let me kiss him again then I needed to have another drink. I knew he wouldn't let me though.

'I need to go to the bathroom,' I lied. 'I'll meet you by the exit in about 5 minutes OK?'

'OK,' he said.

I headed off to the ladies bathrooms and then made my way to the bar.

'Another shot of Tequila?' asked the bartender.

'Nah. I think I'll finish with a whiskey.' He poured me a glass.

I sat down at a table. It was too easy for Tony to see me if I stayed at the bar.

Oh God! That kiss! I'd never felt anything like that before. My body was aching for him to touch me again, not just touch me... 'I want Tony Stark to screw me!' The realization hit me suddenly, although it had been on my mind most of the night. I giggled. 'I want to lose my virginity to Tony Stark.' He was all I could think about.

I could feel myself drifting off when I was about half way through the whiskey.

I was tired, I wanted to sleep. I layed my head down on the table and closed my eyes.


	28. Chapter 28 Tony

_**This took ages, so reviews are very very much appreciated.**_

_**And a massive thanks to Ladyhawke Legend for helping me out with the first bit.**_

* * *

Soon after Maria had gone off to 'go deal with something' people tried to engage me in long conversations. Most of them I didn't remember. I managed to get free from the last man who had been talking to me (I had no idea who he was) and scanned the room looking for Maria.I wanted to make sure she was OK. I smiled when I spotted her, sitting at the bar. I was about to head over when I heard someone say my name.

'Stark!'

'Crap!' I thought. I recognized that voice.It was that reporter who really had it in for me. I'd slept with her once but I couldn't remember her name. Something like Kristy? Christina?

I sighed and turned around.

'I thought you'd be busy out saving the world,' she said, with strong sarcasm in her voice.

I smiled at her 'Christina...'

'Just Christine.'

'Right, Christine. You know I thought this had all been cleared up, it's really not that complicated. I'm _not _Ironman.' I placed a particular stress on not.

Although I'd gone and admitted to the whole world that I was Ironman a few months back, S.H.I.E.L.D had gone ballistic and had somehow convinced the media that I was _not _Ironman. Apparently this was for my own safety. They'd put my announcement down to post traumatic stress and had provided me with alibis for the times of any public sightings of Ironman, and now I had to play along with it.

Christine however was not buying it.

'And you expect everyone to believe that after your big announcement? One minute you're Ironman. The next minute you're not. '

'When I gave that statement I was... not in a stable mindset.' I hated saying that. It made me sound like I'd gone crazy. Why did S.H.I.E.L.D have to use that as the excuse?

I knew why. I'd asked that when they'd first explained this cover up story to me, and I remembered what Agent Coulson had said. 'We have to use the most workable idea Mr. Stark.' So they thought the idea that was most 'workable', the one that the public would be most willing to believe, was that I'd lost it ? I hoped this was down to the fact that people enjoyed watching other people falling apart, rather than the fact that the public were already questioning my sanity.

'So you decided to tell everyone that you're Ironman, even though you're not, for no apparent reason?'

'I'd just spent three months as a prisoner, in a cave, in Afghanistan. I'd just seen American soldiers,the people I was trying to protect, blown apart by my own weapons. I was suffering from... severe post traumatic stress. ' I hated saying it. 'I was by no means in any fit state to be giving a statement. I don't know why I said it. It doesn't make any sense to me either.' The last part was true.

'So you're telling me that the whole 'I've made mistakes and I'm trying to put everything right again' speech,you didn't mean any of that? That was all down to post traumatic stress? '

Post traumatic stress. It made me sound weak.

'That's not what I'm saying at all. I just...' I sighed. 'I withdrew my statement. Anything I said at that conference should be ignored, but with regard to me trying to put right my mistakes... '

She interrupted me. 'Your very big mistakes, that have cost hundreds of innocent people their lives.'

She was relentless.

'The lies, the dealing under the table, that was nothing to do with me. My priority was, and always will be, to protect my country and her people. If I'd known about that I would never have allowed it to happen,' I explained as calmly as I could, but I was feeling anything but calm inside. It was not a subject that I could feel calm about. Obadiah! That double crossing traitor!

'Your company Stark. Your weapons.' She'd struck a nerve and she knew it. I tried to remain calm.

'Look Miss...'

'Everhart.'

'Miss Everhart, you're right.I've made mistakes. Mistakes that have cost people their lives, and I'm not excusing that, but I can't change what's already happened. I can't change the past but I'm doing everything I can to build a better future.'

'Everything you can? And what exactly would that be?'

I could see what she was trying to do now;push me into a corner, turn on the heat, and make me meltdown and admit I'm Ironman.

She was good . She never failed to impress me with her 'interviewing technique', but that wasn't going to work. I'd had too much practice at this.I smiled 'If you're after an in depth interview Miss Everhart, all you have to do is ask.'

She scowled, but didn't say anything.

The last time we'd had an 'in depth interview' she'd ended up in my bedroom. That was part of the reason that she was so bitter towards me.

'And by the way I'm _not _Ironman,' I said as I walked past her, just to clarify.

I, finally, headed over to the bar where Maria was sitting, and drinking,very rapidly. If she carried on drinking at that rate she'd be drunk in about 10 minutes.I guessed she was still a little shaken from the whole 'camera shy' business, or maybe whatever she had gone to 'deal with' hadn't gone so well.

'Maria.'

She didn't answer me. She asked the bartender for a refill.

'Hitting the bottle pretty hard, aren't we?'

'You can talk.'

I didn't know exactly how I was expecting her to respond, but certainly not like that.

'Maria I...' I started.

'Don't talk to me Tony. I really don't need advice on how much I should be drinking from an alcoholic.'

OK. I didn't understand this. She was mad at me now?

'Sorry. Have I missed something?'

'OK. Let me make this easy for you. If you talk to me again tonight you'll end up not only getting slapped but also with my drink over your head. Got it?'

How could I not? 'Loud and clear.Can I just...'

She picked up her glass. Threatening to throw her drink over me.

I held up my hands. 'I just think you should slow down!' She really was drinking too fast. Even by my standards.

'Tony. I'm warning you.'

'OK! OK! I'm gone!' I walked away.

I couldn't follow her mood swings at all. Why was she mad at me when I just helped her out? I didn't do anything she didn't want me too. In fact it was _her _pressing herself against me. I watched her from a distance for a while. I was worried about how much she was drinking, and how fast.

A couple of guys came up and started trying to talk to me and I told them in the nicest possible way I could to piss off, after making enough hints that I didn't want to talk. Pretty soon I was surrounded by hoards of hot young women. Usually I would have been happy at this point but I kept comparing the ladies to Maria and none of them were even half as sexy as she was. I couldn't help thinking about her. 'Well if she wants to get herself pissed that's up to her,' I told myself, but I couldn't leave it like that. After maybe half an hour I excused myself from the ladies and went to find Maria's friends, the twins.

I saw them sitting at a table, looking a little low.

'Do you mind if I...?'

'No. Go ahead,' said Lilly. She was smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. I wondered what was up with them, and if it had anything to do with Maria. I took a seat.

'Have you spoken to Maria?'

'She hates us,' said Poppy miserably.

'You've fallen out?' I should have guessed, with the whole thing with them leaving her there to face the cameras. That's why she was in such a bad mood. It didn't seem like a good enough reason for her to be drinking so much though. Neither of them answered.

'Does she usually go so overboard with the alcohol? ' I asked. 'Because seriously, she's going to be dealing with one hell of a hangover tomorrow.'

Lilly sighed. 'She's angry. She drinks when she's angry.'

'Tell me about it.' I was expecting one of them to go over and try and stop her drinking so much at this point but they didn't.

'Do you want to do this?' asked Poppy looking at her twin.

Lilly shook her head, 'I'm not in the mood. Let's just go.'

'Aren't you gonna go deal with her I mean...'

'Tony, she hates us, she won't listen to us. She won't even talk to us.'

I couldn't believe that they were just going to leave her here.

'Could you do us a massive favor ?'asked Poppy.

'What?'

'Look after Maria.'

'But she...'

They'd already walked off. I shook my head. Me look after her? That's when I heard cheering. I looked to see what all the commotion was.

'Oh my God!' I thought. She was dancing on the table. Maria was dancing on the table. 'She is completely pissed.'But she could dance, she could dance really well and I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I'd never imagined she could dance like that, the way she moved her body...it was so fucking sexy!

I felt kind of angry about all the men round the table watching her. She wasn't just some cheap slut, she was better than that. It wasn't an anger I could act on though. It wasn't really rational. The song ended and she stopped dancing. Men had their hands all over her as they helped her off the table and I hated it.

She went to the bar again and carried on drinking. I shook my head. I wanted to go over there now. I wasn't worried about her threat of throwing her drink over me anymore. I doubt she even remembered that by now. She was too drunk. The only reason that I didn't was because I thought I might do something stupid. I was still angry about those men watching her. I let myself cool down a bit before going over to her.

She was talking to a guy. One of the men that had been trying to talk to me earlier on. I wanted him to just piss off. I only wanted to speak to Maria.

'Maria!'

'Hey Tony!' she said running her hand through her hair. Even though she was slurring her words she still sounded incredibly sexy.

The man she was talking to, looked at me. 'So you're Tony. Tony Stark.' He spat the words out.

So that meant she'd been talking about me. I had to smile at that. I ignored the man and turned to Maria.'Maria, I think its time for you to go now.'

'It's fine. I'm taking care of the lady,' said the man. Who the hell did he think he was?

I laughed, 'I don't think so.'

'Well it's not up to you, is it?'I really just wanted to punch him the face now. I ignored him.

'Maria...'

The man took a step towards me, as if he thought he could intimidate me. He honestly had no chance.Oh well, maybe it would give me an excuse to punch him. 'Listen Starky boy...' he started.

Maria interrupted. 'Tom.You're not gonna win.' Even a drunk woman could see that.

He glared at me for a while. I smiled back, just to piss him off. He walked off.

Then I turned to Maria, she was giggling incessantly. She asked for another shot.

'Maria don't you think you've had enough?' I asked.

'Enough?'

I looked at her, half wondering if she was going to follow through with her threat.

She didn't. She downed the shot and asked for another. How much was she going to drink?

'Maria. I really think you should stop now.'

'Just one more.'

I took the shot before she could.

'I think it's time for you to go home now,' I told her.

'Oh come on Tony,' Then she did something that I really wasn't expecting. She started running her hand down my chest and it felt really good.'Just one more. Just _one._' God. She sounded so sexy.

I stopped her hand before she got to the arc reactor. 'And then you'll go home?'

'To my hotel,'she said. I handed her the shot, satisfied with that answer.I was worried that someone would take advantage of her, like that guy she'd just been talking to. 'You smell _so_ good you know,so sexy. You always do.'

I was shocked she'd said that. I could say exactly the same thing about her. 'She's drunk remember,' I told myself.

'You are so pissed.'

She downed the shot.'I wanna dance.'

I laughed 'You've done plenty of dancing tonight.' 'and good God you were good. So damn sexy!' I added silently.

'Not with you,' she said.'Come on.' She pulled me onto the dance floor.

'You're going back to your hotel after this OK?'

She pulled my arms around her. I was still adjusting to this new drunk Maria.

'Why do you want to get rid of me so much?' she asked

'Honestly, you'll thank me in the morning.'

She had her arms around my neck, and she'd pulled herself close. I liked the effect alcohol had on her, I decided.

We danced silently for a little while. I looked into her beautiful eyes and I saw something I hadn't seen before; innocence. For the first time I really believed that she was a virgin. She looked so innocent and so vulnerable and I felt the overwhelming desire to protect once again.

'I don't even know how I'm getting back,' she said, breaking the silence.

'You need a lift?' I asked her.

She murmured something. I don't know what but I didn't think it was a reply.

'Maria?'

'What?'

'Yes or no?'

'What?'

'Do you need a lift home?' I asked her a second time.

'Yeah.Can't you hold me a little bit tighter?'

I pulled her a little closer to me. I loved having her close to me.

'Tighter,' she whispered. I wanted to, but I felt, somehow, that I shouldn't. I loosened my grip.

'Time to go,' I said.

'Not yet,let me just have a taste.'

I didn't know what she was talking about . Have a taste of what? Was that just the alcohol talking?

'Wha...?' That was as far as I managed to get. Her lips were against mine before I could continue. At first I was shocked. She was kissing me. Maria was kissing me. What the hell?

My thought processes didn't get any further than that though. It felt so good and I couldn't help kissing her back. I needed her closer. I heard her moan slightly as I pulled her body tight against mine. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard.

I couldn't help myself kissing her a little more fiercely. She returned my kiss with the same passion. I'd shared a lot of pretty intense kisses, but nothing like this. This was just...indescribably good. I wanted more. I wanted to...

I pulled away. I don't know why. The kiss had felt so good, so right but at the same time so wrong.

'Don't stop!'said Maria. She was still recovering from the kiss, trying to catch her breath, and she sounded so sexy. She moved closer to kiss me but I pushed her away.

'We need to go now.'

'Tony.'

I looked at her. She was beautiful, gorgeous, sexy and I wanted her so much, so what was wrong with me? Why didn't I want to do this now? She was running a finger slowly down my chest. Shit that felt so good. She got to the arc reactor, and I felt a little uncomfortable, self conscious. She started circling around it with her finger, and it felt surprisingly good, almost sexual.

I pulled her hand away from my chest.'Stop it Maria.'

'Sensitive,'she said.

I didn't answer.

'Kiss me Tony.Please,' she whispered. I wanted to, really wanted to, but I couldn't. I started to wish she was sober.It would have made things so much easier.

'We're going now,' I told her.

'I need to go to the bathroom.I'll meet you by the exit in about 5 minutes OK?' she said.

'OK.'

I went to the exit, called my driver and told him to have the car waiting outside. I waited for Maria. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. She might have passed out in the toilet, or, less dramatically, she'd gone to have another drink. I'd used the whole 'wait for me by the exit' thing when I'd gone out with Rhodey before. I should have seen it coming. I walked over to the bar and looked around the tables.

She'd passed out. I couldn't help laughing. It was inevitable really, her having drunk so much.

I sighed. I'd have to wake her up, to find out where she needed to be taken. I shook her gently.

'Maria. Maria, wake up.'

'Tony?' she mumbled.

'Yeah. It's me. Where are you staying?' I asked.

'Here,' she replied. I sighed. I had feeling I was going to have trouble getting to the answer.

'Maria, you're staying in a hotel. What is it called?'

'Dunno,' she said. Her eyes were starting to close again.

'Maria!' I said it more loudly. I needed her awake. 'Where about is it?'

'Dunno.'

'I need to know where I'm taking you.'

Her eyes were closed. I shook her again.

'I just need to know where you're staying. Then you can sleep all you want'

'I don't know. Just leave me alone,' she moaned.

'Maria, please.'

She didn't answer. I shook her again.

'Maria!'

'Go away!'

'Just tell me where you're staying and I won't disturb you again.' This was really tiring work.

'I'm staying in a place,' she started. 'I stay there all the time, and I like it so much. It's so sexy, like you. Do you know how sexy you are Tony? You turn me on so much. Damn it I'm so hot, so kinky. I just want you to fuck me right now.Do want you want to me, whatever you want, however you wanna do it, just fuck me.'

OK. I wasn't expecting that. Hearing her say that had consequently really turned me on. More than I already was that is. I tried to push all thoughts of screwing her to the back of my mind.

'Right, Maria. Can you tell me the name of this hotel you're staying in?'

'Don't need a hotel. Just do it here.'

I considered taking up her offer. Not here obviously, but I'd wanted to screw her for so long and now she was begging me to fuck her and she was really turning me on. I was so fucking aroused now, thanks to her. I needed to know where she was staying first though.

'Listen Maria...' I started but she was asleep again.

I shook her again.

'Tell me the name of the hotel you're staying in.'

'Your voice is so sexy,' she said.

'That's great, now can you just tell me the name of the damn hotel.' I was really fed up with this now.

She didn't answer. She'd fallen asleep again.

'You know what,' I said, 'forget it.'

Happy,my driver, must have been waiting outside for a good fifteen minutes now. I lifted Maria and carried her out. Happy raised an eyebrow when I brought her out.

'You're taking her home ?' he asked.

'Yeah' I replied. To be honest I didn't really have any other option.


	29. Chapter 29 Maria

_**Sorry it's taken me so long to write. I had a very severe case of writers block. **_

**_OK ,this chapters a little different but I hope you guys like it anyway. _**

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**_That's right! You're awesome!_**

* * *

_He's kissing me, and I'm kissing him back. _

_Our clothes are scattered on the floor, and here we are, naked, kissing each other like it's the last time we'll ever kiss. He's running his hands over my body. I love the way his skin feels against mine._

_I pull myself closer to him and he holds my body tight against his._

_It feels so good._

_Nothing inbetween us._

_Nothing stopping us._

_No boundaries._

_I'm ready for this._

_So ready for this._

_Or at least I think I am._

_He pulls away and I am forced to stop kissing him._

_'Maria,' he says softly, 'Before we do this, I want you to know...'_

_I wait for him to continue. _

_'I want you to know that I love you.'_

_I smile and kiss him passionately. I've been waiting, longing, to hear those words for so long._

_I pull away._

_'I love you too Tony. I love you with all my heart.' _

_He pulls me into a fiery kiss and then pushes me back so he's on top of me._

_All of a sudden I realise just how deeply I love him. _

_All of a sudden I can't._

_I sit up._

_'What's wrong?' he asks me._

_'I can't,' I tell him. 'I'm sorry it's not you. It's me, I just... I can't.'_

_'OK,' he says, stroking my hair, 'but why?'_

_I don't know how to tell him._

_I don't know I can make him understand._

_Why._

* * *

_I walk in through the door, feeling low. I always feel low after school. I'm barely more than seven and I hate school. My grades are good, but I'm shy and quiet. I don't have many friends and the older kids, my sister's friends, bully me. Of course, I don't tell anyone about this. I don't want them to think I'm weak. I don't want Alicia to think I'm weak._

_I drop my over sized rucksack in the doorway and run into the grotty apartment before Alicia can torment me any further. At the moment she's still outside with her friends. They've been teasing me all the way back from school._

_'Daddy!' I call. I run over to him and crawl into his lap. He holds me in my arms and its one of the few times in my life that I actually feel safe._

_'How was school?' he asks me._

_He means my grades._

_'I got nineteen out of twenty on my spelling test.'_

_'Not twenty?' he asks but he's smiling. 'How about math?'_

_'I got all my tables right.'_

_'Good!' he says 'twos ,threes,fives, and tens?'_

_'And elevens' I add._

_'Good girl. You keep that up. You got any homework?'_

_I nod and get up from his lap. I'm a good girl. I don't even need to be told._

_I go and get my back pack and lug it into the room that Alicia and I share. I get out my books knowing that soon Alicia will be up. As I start working I hear the door open. I know what's coming. _

_'Is the little kiss ass busy doing her homework?' she asks in a mocking tone. I don't answer her._

_She walks over and stands behind me. I'm desperately trying to concentrate on my work, but I'm scared. I can't._

_'__Are you ignoring me?' __she says. Suddenly she yanks my hair. It hurts but I don't make a sound. I know if I do she'll probably just do it again, harder. I'm shaking. I can't help it._

_'Awww,' she says teasingly 'Are you scared ?'_

_I can't write anymore. My hand is shaking too much._

_She snatches the pen out of my hand throws it on the ground and stamps on it, so it snaps in two._

_'You're pathetic, you know that?' she hisses. 'I have to tell people that I'm actually related to you. I have to tell people that my sister's a pathetic little kiss ass loner, with no friends and no life.'_

_She takes my book, rips out the page I've been working on and tears it in half. Then she hits me. Hard. I look away from her.Tears start running down my cheeks. 'Don't cry, please don't cry!' says the voice inside my head. _

_I want to die. I want to die, right now. I want her to kill me. Anything to get away from this. Everyday, and every night, and it will be like that forever, unless I can escape. I want to die._

_'__Look at me Maria,' __says Alicia. I don't want her to see that I'm crying. _

_'I said, look at me,' she forces me to look up at her and when she sees that I'm crying she laughs in my face._

_'__You're pathetic. That's why you're a loner.'_

_She laughs one more time and then walks out of the room._

_I begin to think maybe she's right.She's not the only one who says that to me. Maybe I am pathetic. Maybe I'll never have any friends. No one will ever like me._

_I start my homework again. It takes me another 20 minutes. I wash my face before going to show Daddy my homework so he can check it for me, hoping that he won't be able to see I've been crying. It usually works, but not today. I hold out my book and show him my work but he puts the book to one side and looks at me._

_'Have you been crying?' he asks me._

_I shake my head, but he doesn't believe me. _

_'Come here,' he says holding out his arms._

_I crawl onto his lap again._

_'What's the matter with my little girl?' he asks._

_I don't know what to say._

_'Come on Maria. You can tell me.'_

_But I can't._

_'Do I have to go to school Daddy?' If I stayed at home I wouldn't have to see Alicia's friends anymore. I could stay with him all day._

_He looks confused. 'I thought you liked school.' He has probably assumed that because of my good grades and because I've never complained. _

_'I want to stay with you. I don't need to go to school.'_

_He sighs. 'Maria honey. School is very important. You need to keep up those grades.'_

_'But Alicia...' I start._

_He doesn't let me finish. 'Never mind Alica,' he says. 'You are my special little girl and I know if you work hard you can do anything you want. You can go to a nice neighbourhood and you can get a good job and earn lots of money.'_

_'And I'll buy you a big house.' I tell him, 'With a big T.V and a swimming pool'  
_

_He laughs, 'So you're gonna keep up those grades.'_

_'I still have to go to school?'_

_He nods. 'Will you do that for me?'_

_'Yes Daddy.'_

_He looks at me for a while. _

_'What's your dream Maria?' he asks me._

_I'm a little confused. 'What?'_

_'What do you want to do when you're all grown up into a beautiful, successful young woman?'_

_I smile. I have an answer to that one._

_'I...' I stop. Maybe it's a silly answer. It's nothing like marrying a prince or being a pop star ; I'm beyond such childish dreams, but still, maybe it's not the 'right' answer.  
_

_'Yes,' he says._

_'I want to go to Hollywood.'_

_He smiles. _

_'You want to go to Hollywood? You want to be a movie star?'_

_'I don't know.' I don't know. All I know is that Hollywood is where they make the movies. I love movies. I love going to the pictures. I love how when I'm watching films I can forget about my life, about this neighborhood, and go somewhere else, somewhere perfect. That's why I want to go to Hollywood; the place where they make these little places of perfection._

_'Well,' says Daddy, 'If you want to go to Hollywood, you can. You just have to keep working hard, keep going to school, OK?'_

_I hug him tight. 'OK Daddy. I love you.'_

* * *

_I'm fifteen. I'm in a rundown dance studio with a group of other kids around about the same age; my friends. We're the good kids. This is where we go to stay out of trouble. It's a good job I can dance. The studio is run by a couple of volunteers from church. They used to come here when they were younger. It's a tradition I suppose._

_I'm still quiet and shy, even with my friends, but at least I have friends, and they're real friends. Friends that will stand by me. I'm happy._

_'We should get going,' says Andre. He's the leader of our group._

_I go through the last part of the dance one more time._

_'Come on snake hips,' he calls. 'It's getting dark and we don't really wanna run into Sam and that,' -the group my sister hangs around with, the 'bad' kids._

_I pull on my sweatshirt and walk over to the rest of them and we leave to go home. We talk about silly things that a group of teenage friends would talk about._

_'Oi Kiss ass!' Its Alicia voice. The whole group turns around. She's gesturing for me to come over. She's standing next to Sam at the front of her group._

_Andre steps forward 'Look. If you got a problem with anyone here you can take it up with me.'_

_He doesn't realise how potentially dangerous what he's doing is. I know Alicia's friends carry guns. There's really no need for anyone to get hurt, or even threatened._

_'It's OK,' I whisper to him 'I've got it.'_

_I take a deep breath before walking over to Alicia. Sam looks me up and down. He scares me. He used to bully me when I was younger._

_'Little Maria's all growed up,' he says smiling. He starts walking around me ,looking at me. It makes me feel uneasy. 'I like,' he says, 'I like a lot.' He puts his hand on my face._

_'She's still a fucking kiss ass. Aren't you, you little bitch?' says Alicia. I don't answer. Sam's started running his hands over my body, in a way I don't feel comfortable with but I don't say anything. I can barely breathe. 'Well, you can't go wrong with a little bit of innocence. Anyway,' he lowers his voice 'I can soon get rid of your...innocence.' I know what he's suggesting and so does Alicia. I'm terrified._

_I'm thankful that Alicia pushes us apart. 'You're funny Sam.' She turns to me with a look of contempt in her eyes. She's jealous. I can't help smiling._

_'I don't know what you're smiling about.' she_ _hisses, 'Your Dad's in hospital!' My eyes widen._

_'What?'_

_'You heard me. He got shot.'_

_My hand covers my mouth and I run. _

_I'm at the hospital. He's in surgery._

_I stop passing nurses, begging to see him but they won't let me. Eventually a surgeon comes out. _

_'Miss Edwards?' he asks. I nod._

_'Can I see him?'_

_'Miss Edwards, I think you should take a seat.'_

_I know what he's going to say._

_It feels like someone has ripped out my heart._

_I just shake my head._

_'We tried everything we could.'_

_I cover my face with my hands. He can't. He's not._

_'I'm afraid we've lost him.'_

_'He's...he's...but he can't. He can't.'  
_

_'Miss Edwards...'_

_'You don't understand... no! He can't!' I'm screaming it now. _

_He's gone. _

_It hurts._

_It hurts like hell. _

_'Miss Edwards...'_

_I rip the off the cross from around my neck and throw it on the floor.  
_

_I know what happens next._

_I run._

_Except, I don't._

_Suddenly reality shifts._

_I'm not fifteen anymore; this is me, now. I'm standing in a hospital, not in New York; this is California. I don't know why I'm here._

_Then I see Tony's P.A., Pepper. She's crying. It must be something bad, something terrible. She's the kind of person who can usually hold it together. I don't walk over, don't ask what's wrong. I think I don't want to know._

_I want to walk away, but she see's me._

_She stands up and tries to compose herself. This is for my benefit. I don't move, instead she walks over to me. She takes a deep breath._

_'Maria.' Her voice is shaking. I don't say anything, just stand there and look at her._

_'They tried everything they could ,but...' she trails off. She's crying again._

_I'm not sure I understand. 'What?'_

_'I-I'm sorry,' she says. I can only assume that she's talking about Tony. _

_Then I realise._

_'He's dead.' I say it without emotion, without feeling. I can't feel anything, just numbness._

_I stand for a while, waiting to feel something, anything._

_'He's dead,' I repeat and this time it really hits home. I feel like someone's just torn open a wound that's just healed, like someone's ripped open a hole in my chest and pulled out my heart._

_'Not again' I think. 'This can't be happening again.' I know the pain will only get worse. I can't stay here. I can't do this._

_This time it's an engagement ring that I throw to the floor._

_I run._

_I'm not sure what I'm running from._

_The future._

_The past._

_The pain._

_I run and I run. _

_Into the darkness._

_It hurts._

_It hurts like hell._

_This is why._

_I'm crying. I can't stop. I can't stop the hurting. The pain._

_Only, I can._

_'It's not real,' I tell myself, 'He's still here.' And I can feel his presence._

_I will myself to believe he's here with me, and he is._

_I ask him to hold me, and he does._

_Dreams and reality. The boundaries between the two blur. I don't know what's real. I don't care._

_All that matter's is that he's here holding me. I pull myself closer._

_Maybe it's stupid._

_Maybe I'll end up getting hurt again._

_But I can't live for the past._

_I can't live for the future._

_I have to live for now._


	30. Chapter 30 Tony

**_It's not a long one, but leave me a review anyway. Go on. Please? Just a few words to tell me how I'm doing. I mean, if you don't like it then there's not much point in me continuing is there?_**

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* * *

I fell off the couch.

Twice.

'What the hell?' I thought, after landing on the floor for the second time. 'Why the hell do _I _have to sleep on the sofa? It's my bloody house!'

I got up from off the floor and walked into my bedroom, determined that I _would _get some sleep tonight, even if it was only a couple of hours.

I saw Maria's beautiful body sleeping on the bed where I'd laid her, but I didn't care. Although I can run on 3 hours sleep for 48 hours, it's not something I particularly enjoy doing. I was tired, I wanted to sleep, and not on that bloody couch!

I watched her chest rising and falling as she breathed for a little while and examined her face as best as I could in the dark room. She really was gorgeous, a regular sleeping beauty. I smiled.

'This is not gonna go down well in the morning,' I thought as I climbed into the bed beside her.Then again, she didn't have to find out. I'd most likely be up before her anyway. She shifted slightly. She was lying with her back to me.

'I don't want to be alone,' she said.

'Oh you've got to be kidding me,' I muttered. 'Does she have to sleep talk tonight?'

'Not again. Not _again._' I had no idea what she was talking about. Probably a dream. No. A nightmare.

She somehow managed to find my hand, slipping hers into mine.

Then she said my name, very softly. 'Tony!' I loved the way it sounded when she said it.'Hold me.'

'Hold you?' 'Don't do this Maria,' I thought. 'Not tonight.'

'Hold me Tony, please.' She'd grabbed my hand and pulled my arm around her waist. 'Hold me tight.'

I didn't move. I was already so close to her. If I wasn't careful I'd end up getting myself into trouble. I sighed, I only came in here so I could get some sleep! 'This just gets better and better doesn't it?' I thought.

'Tony, please!' There was a desperation in her voice which I couldn't ignore. I gave in and pulled her closer to me and it felt so good. Her hair was silky against my face, her skin soft, scent alluring.

'Like this?' I asked her.

'Yeah,' her voice was barely more than a murmer. 'Like that.'

'Easy Tony,' cautioned the voice in my head. After a while I losened my grip on her. 'Now I can get some sleep' I thought.I thought she was sound asleep again. I was wrong.

Her hand went to my arm, trying to keep me from pulling away.

'Tony!' God I loved it when she said my name. 'Tony, please!' I couldn't deny her this when she was aking me like that. I held her tightly again, ignoring the many cautions echoing in my head. She kept her hands on my arm until she was satisfied that I wasn't going to let her go again. This felt so good, so right, like when she'd kissed me. There was something different about her. Something I felt with her that I'd never felt before.

'Tony!' she said softly.

'Uh Huh.'

'I love you,' she said. I smiled to myself, she was so totally, completly pissed.

'I love you too Maria,' I said, without thinking. It didn't matter she was drunk. 'Digging yourself a hole Tony...' said the voice inside my head.

Maria shifted in my arms and rested her head on my shoulder.

'I love you Tony. Oh God I love you Tony!'

'...and you didn't bring a ladder,' finished the voice in my head.

Before had felt good but this felt even better. I was overwhelmed by it, incapacitated for a few seconds, enough time for her to unbutton my shirt. She started running her hands up my bare chest and over the arc reactor. Good god that felt good. So fucking good.

'I want you Tony. I love you!'

'Shit,' I thought, 'This isn't good.' Man, she was making this hard for me. I reluctantly stopped her wandering hands and pushed her away gently.

'Maria in the morning...'

Before I could finish she was on top of me looking down at me, pressing one of her fingers to my lips to keep me from talking.

'Shhhh. It's OK,' she said softly. God she was sexy. Her voice, her body, her scent. She was perfect, but Jesus Christ this is Maria. The woman that's determined to hate me even if I've just helped her face her worst fear! I couldn't belive that this was happening. God! How much did she drink?

She moved her finger, putting her hand to the side of my face. Her face was so close to mine that her lips brushed against mine when she talked.

'It's OK,' she said in barely more than a whisper, 'I love you.'

Then she kissed me. This kiss was gentle, delicate, careful. She was stroking the side of my face softly , coaxing me to relax, give into her kiss.

I did. I couldn't help it.I was too tired to resist anymore. I kissed her back and the kiss grew hotter, heavier, more intense. I felt something then, which I'd never felt before. I didn't know what the hell it was and to be honest I didn't really care I just wanted more.

I knew that I should stop now for her sake, but I didn't care right then. I just wanted her and she was making it so difficult for me to behave. I think I'd given up at this point anyway. 'If she wants it, why not just give it to her?' I thought.

I put my hands on her waist and pulled her body, which she'd been holding just a few inches above me, down onto mine. She collapsed on top of me, not resisting in the least. I felt her body close against mine, her breasts pressed tight against my chest.

She pulled away form the kiss breathing heavily. 'Oh God! Yes Tony!' she whispered and then continued the kiss. A kiss filled with hot passion, burning desire and something else.

I caught her by surprise and flipped palces, so I was on top and she was underneath. I gave her a break from the kiss, giving her a chance to catch her breath. I left a trail of hot kisses down the side of her neck and shoulder, enjoying the way she smelt.

She lay with her eyes closed, and breathing deeply. She looked so fucking sexy. I kissed her bottom lip until she brought my mouth down on top of hers again. This time we kissed more slowly, our tounges gently brushing against each other.

I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to touch her and pulled away again. I ran my hands up slowly from her waist and under her breasts. She breathed in deeply and moaned slightly. It was a sound I fell in love with immediatly. Her breathing got faster as I continued to run my hands over her body. I pushed up the skirt of her dress, running my hands up her thighs.

'Oh God ! Tony! I love you.'

I stopped. I couldn't do this. It wasn't just that I shouldn't, I actually couldn't.I cared about her more than this, and I cared about what she thought about me.

Don't get me wrong. I wanted to do this, really wanted to, but not like this. It had to be more than a drunk mistake. She had to really want it.

I took my hands off her and sighed. If she remembered this tomorrow I knew I'd be the one she'd blame it on and we'd be back to square one,no, before square one.

She looked up at me. 'Tony?' she asked.

'Goodnight Maria,' I said. She looked confused.

'But...' she started.

'I'm tired,' was the excuse I gave her.

'You will hold me though?'

I held her tightly until I was sure she was sound asleep. Then I let her go and got out of the bed. Hopefully she wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow. Hopefully.

I walked down to the workshop feeling extremly pissed off.

'Yep, you just messed up big time Tony!'

Well I was going to have a hell of a fun time tommorow dealing with Maria _and _Pepper. It's funny how even though I'd tried to do the right thing by bringing Maria back home, it would probably only going to get me into more trouble. What was it they say? No good deed goes unpunished.

I didn't even get any sleep, and that's all I'd wanted.

I sighed. 'No rest for the wicked I guess.'


	31. Chapter 31 Maria

**_Pretty short chapter, and I'm talking short like chapter one short, well maybe not that short. _**

**_Anyone see Robert Downey Jr (Tony Stark) in 'Tropic Thunder'? It's just come out over here. RDJ totally owned that film for me, but then I guess I'm biased. But seriously; playing an Australian who's playing an African American, that's skill. RDJ-gotta love him._**

**_Anyway, leave me a review! It's been a while. _**

* * *

Oh hell.

Oh crap.

Oh shit.

Not my bed, not my hotel.

'Good morning. It's 6 am local time, the temperature is 25 degrees and the outlook is sunny.'

I screamed.

Almost immediately a professional looking strawberry blonde woman walked into the room. Tony's P.A.

Shit.

She looked as shocked to see me as I did to see her.

'Oh no,' I said shaking my head. 'Please say I'm not. I didn't ...'

She didn't say anything, just looked at me awkwardly and then sighed. I wanted to just disappear. How the hell did this happen? I honestly couldn't remember anything that had happened, but I was pretty sure that I'd told Tony to fuck off at some point last night.

I considered making a quick exit, avoid any awkward conversations.

But I couldn't remember what had happened, how I'd got here, or if we'd even... done the deed. Then it suddenly hit me that I was in California. Oh shit! Wrong side of the country.

Suddenly I felt my stomache tighten. I knew what was coming.

I threw up in his bed.

I put my head in my hands. All this and a hangover; it was just too much.

I started crying.

She looked at me for a while, probably unsure of what to do. I wondered how many times she'd had to deal with this situation. To her I was probably nothing more than another one of Tony's sluts. I hated him!Loathed him! Detested him! With a passion!

She handed me a glass of water.

'Can I get you anything else?' she asked me after I'd calmed down a little.

'Get Tony,' I said, almost violently. If anything had happened between us then I was actually going to kill him. I'd actually planned it out in my head. The half empty bottle of wine at the side of his bed should be enough to knock him out with. Then I could rip out that thing in his chest. I didn't know what it was but it looked pretty important. I hoped that ripping it out would cause a long, painful death so that if he came to he could die in agony.

How dare he take advantage of me. He knew that I hated , no , detested him. Why did he do it? Why?

Oh, cuz he's Tony Stark. That's why!

'I think Tony is busy. I'll just clear that up shall I?' she said looking at the puke covered duvet. It didn't look like it was a job she was particularly going to enjoy.

'Tell Tony, from me, that if he does not get his ass in here within the next two minutes, I will literally rip off all his limbs, and I'm not even joking,' I said maybe just a little too agressively.

His P.A looked startled. 'OK. I'll just go pass that message on.'

She exited abruptly.

Well, I still had my dress on. I guess that was a good sign. Not that it would have been impossible for him to hve, well, fucked me with it still on. I threw the duvet off and got out of the bed revolted by the thoughts of what Stark could have been doing to me on it last night and the pungent smell of my own puke.

God!I didn't even remember what had happened. My first time and I didn't even remember it. 'After all these years I just lose my virginity on a one night stand.' I shook my head disgusted with myself. I was drunk God damn it, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. He took advantage. Wasn't that like considered a form of rape?

Why did I go to that damn party? Nothing good had come out of it whatsoever. I should have just put up with those dreams.

'You better have one hell of a good story Stark,' I thought to myself, 'Otherwise it might be the last one you'll be telling.'


	32. Chapter 32 Tony

**_This writers block/ lack of inspiration is very persistnt. I'm sorry it's taking me so long to get these up._**

**_I have to say a massive thanks to Ladyhawke Legend, although I know she'll insist that I don't need to bother. I was considering just giving up on this story, but she's really helped me out!_**

**_Leave me a review, just so I feel my efforts are worthwhile. I love you guys, you really are awesome. Thankyou!_**

* * *

I met Pepper halfway up the stairs. She had that unimpressed look on her face. Exactly what I was expecting.

'Goodmorning Pepper,' I said.

'Going to see Maria are you?'

I wasn't at all suprised that she already knew Maria was here.

'Yes actually. How is she? Jarvis said she was in distress.'

'Distress? I suppose that's about right. I'd hurry up if I were you. You've got about a minute and a half left.'

'Until?'

'She rips off all your limbs, apparently.'

I sighed. 'OK.'

I walked past Pepper.

'And when she's finished with you, you've got me to deal with,' she called.

I had a feeling Pepper was enjoying this much more than she let on.

Maria was standing by a window, looking out onto the sea when I walked in.

'Nice view isn't it?' I said walking over to her.

She turned around and looked at me. I could see she'd been crying.

'You,' she said suprisingly calmly,'are a bastard.'

I shrugged, 'Fair enough.'

'If anything happened between us last night...'

I smiled. She didn't remember.

'Yes'

'If anything happened I swear I will fucking kill you!'

'Let me just go write my will.' I couldn't help playing games with her.

She stared at me for a few seconds. It was probably still sinking in.

'So, you're saying that...'

'Yes.'

'You're telling me that we...'

'Yes.'

And then sudden realisation.

'Oh my God! _Oh my God!_'

She tried to slap me, but I saw it coming and grabbed both of her wrists.

'Get off me!' she screamed, attempting to pull away from me.

I tried not to smile. 'Calm down Maria,' I told her.

'Calm down? _Calm down_!? Don't you dare tell me to fucking calm down! You took my virginity you bastard, against my will !' She was getting hysterical. It was probably time to tell her the truth, maybe what I should have done in the first place, but it was fun playing games with her.

'Maria, listen...' She didn't let me finish.

'I'm going to kill you I swear,' she shouted, tears starting to run down her face. She'd been working her wrists out of my grip and was dangerously close to getting free. If she did she'd either try and attack me, or storm out without letting me have a chance to explain.

I really didn't mean to upset her, just wind her up a little bit. I guessed it was a habit I was going to have to get out of, if I intended to ever make any progress with her.

I took a chance and let go of her wrists. Before she managed to react, I put my hands on her waist and pulled her towards me, holding her tight. She'd have to hear me out now.

'Get off!' she screamed. 'Get your filthy hands off of me!' She struggled against me, but I had a good grip on her.

It felt good holding her close to me. It would have felt a lot better if she'd just relaxed. I didn't understand why she was getting so stressed out anyway. If last night had been anything to go by, this whole business of her hating me was just an act. Secretly she really just wanted to sleep with me, except it wasn't so secret anymore, but she didn't know that.

'I hate you! I fucking hate you!' she yelled, still struggling to get free. I wasn't going to let her go until she'd calmed down and given me a chance to explain, although I doubted that what I'd thought of as a game would be so amusing to her.

Eventually she gave up her pointless resistance and sobbed into my shoulder violently.

I wasn't totally sure what to do, so I just had to improvise.

'Shhh, it's OK,' I said to her softly, rubbing her back. I don't know why I said it. It just seemed approriate at the time.

'How is it OK?' she sobbed. 'You don't understand. You don't understand what you've taken from me. I wanted my first time to be special...'

Something about the way she said it pulled at something in my heart. This meant more to her than I'd ever realised. I wanted to stop her and tell her it was OK, that nothing had happened. I wasn't going to give up on her, no chance, but maybe I could try and play a little more fairly. The problem was it was a different game we were playing now, not one I'd played before. This time the prize was something more than just getting her into bed. She continued.

'I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to loose my virginity to someone special. Not just some jerk like you.'

'Oh come on Maria,' I said, letting my ego get the better of me. 'Stop pretending you're not attracted to me.'

'Bastard!' she hissed trying to push herself away from me. I held her tight.

'Oh no you don't.'

'Oh yes I do!' She brought her knee up into my groin.

Needless to say it hurt.

A lot.

Maybe I deserved that. I should have just told her the truth. Now I wouldn't get the chance. But hey if she wanted to play dirty, so could I!

'I hope your fucking balls drop off,' she said before storming out of the room.

Charming.

I knew she'd thought she'd won, but I had my secret weapon. I knew for a fact that she was attracted to me now. She'd made that pretty clear last night. She was having to fight against not only me but also her own desires. That was something I could use against her.

And she still owed me.

That, at least, gave me a little comfort.

For the first time I noticed that the room vaugley smelt of puke.

A few minutes later Pepper came in to find me doubled over in pain, from Maria's attack.

I looked up at her, She stood holding a newspaper, which, no doubt had some obscure headline about me. She looked down at me unsympathetically.

'Now,' she said, 'You have me to deal with!'

Lovely.


	33. Chapter 33 Maria

**_Hi guys. Sorry it's been a while, I'm really hoping that you haven't all given up on me! If you possibly can leave a review do, it would be an awesome birthday present if you all reviewed, even just a couple of words! _**

**_The truth is that I've started co-writing another Ironman story with my friend,which had been taking up a lot of my attention and is probably why this chapter has taken me so ridiculously long to get up. _**

**_Anyway if you've got time, go check out the other story while you're waiting for me to update this one. It's called 'Deception'. It's quite different, but have a read and leave a review to let me know what you think._**

**_Thanks guys. I've said it before but I'll say it again! You're all awesome!_**

**_

* * *

_**

We were into post production, which was the part I usually enjoy least, but it didn't matter.

Something beautiful was happening.

Slowly but surely I was falling in love.

And suddenly everything seemed fine, everything seemed beautiful. Even what had happened between me and Tony didn't seem that big a deal anymore. I was still angry about it, but it didn't seem worth getting hung up on, not now everything seemed to be working out so well. The best thing was I knew who I was falling for had fallen for me, a long time ago.

I guess in some ways I should have been thankful to Tony. It was because of what he'd done that I'd got so close to Marcus. I'd needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, and after my fall out with Lilly and Poppy I'd found myself opening up to Marcus. I had no one else to turn to and he was there when I needed him.

He always was.

He'd sat patiently through my endless rants, dried my tears and tried his best to look after me, and he'd done a good job of it. Really I didn't deserve him.

It was only once I'd really calmed down about what had happened between Tony and I, that I realised that I was begining to feel more for Marcus than just friendship. My heart would start racing every time I heard his voice. I was falling for him. It had taken long enough.

I knew he liked me and I was pretty sure he knew I liked him, but neither of us had the guts to tell the other. We'd been on a few unofficial dates, and we had fun, but we never crossed the line between friends and something more than that, though there had been a few moments where we were pretty close.

I think we were both scared of how the other might react.

Even though we were into post production, which meant no more filming, I felt like I was spending more time with Marcus now. It wasn't that I'd seen him more, it was just that the time we spent together meant more. It was different out of work. We'd meet up quite a lot after I'd finished at the studio, and I'd stayed overnight a couple of times at his house, when I'd had a little too much to drink. Nothing ever happened.I never got _that_ drunk, and besides he was too much of a gentleman to try anything like that, unlike someone else.

I walked into the studio that morning after spending the night at Marcus'. I wasn't hung over, just tired. We'd stayed up most of the night just talking.

I sighed. My focus was on CGI at the moment, which I hated. Unfortunately it was a very necessary part of the film and although I'd tried to minimise on it by using stunts wherever I possibly could ,there was no way of cutting it out completely. Oh well, you have to take the rough with the smooth I suppose.

I started looking at some of the stuff that had already been put together ,looked at what needed to be reworked and then tried to explain exactly what it was that I wanted. It's a hell of a lot harder than it sounds, and incredibly frustrating.

'Maria, could you just go over this again, which angle did you want right at the end?'

I took a deep breath to stop myself from screaming. I'd been through this about 6 times already.

'You know what, I've got a really bad head ache. I'm just gonna go get some water and we can got through it when I get back.' I made a swift exit. Anything to get out of there.

I sat on the floor outside the room for a few minutes, my head held in my hands.

'Maria? Are you OK?'

It was Marcus. My heart started racing just hearing his voice. I tried to keep the smile off my face as I looked up at him.

'Well... you know, CGI. Not my favourite thing in the world.'

'Still got a head ache?'

I nodded. I'd left his house feeling pretty rough; lack of sleep, I guessed he must have picked up on it. He sat down next to me on the floor.

'I guess you could do with a couple of these then,' he said handing me a box of paracetamol.

I smiled. 'Not that I mind, but did you really come in just to give me these?' I hoped he'd say yes. Then I'd know he just wanted to see me, or cared about me enough to come in for no other reason than to bring paracetamol.

'No,' he replied, much to my dismay, 'You left this.'

He handed me my phone. I hadn't even noticed I'd left it. I sighed; he hadn't come in just to see me then.

'What's wrong?' he asked me.

'I just hoped-' I stopped myself. I couldn't tell him that. 'Nothing.'

'Are you sure?'

I nodded. This was ridiculous. Why couldn't I just tell him that I liked him? It's not like it wasn't obvious.

I felt myself blushing as he sat and looked at me for a little while. Absentmindedly I started curling a loose strand of my hair around my finger.

Well if it wasn't obvious that I liked him before, it sure as hell was now.

He broke the silence.

'You've got an eyelash on your cheek.'

'Have I?'

'Yeah.' I felt butterflies in my stomach as he gently brushed the eyelash from my cheek.

We stared into each others eyes and without realising I started to lean into him until our lips were only millimeters apart. I closed my eyes.

This would be it, finally, our first kiss.

'Not interrupting anything, am I?'

We both pulled back. I held my head in my hands again. I could not believe this.

Marcus stood up. 'Not at all.'

'Good.I'd hate to think I was intruding or something like that.' I felt, not for the first time,like I could kill him right then. What the hell was he doing here? He'd got what he'd wanted.

Unless he wanted more.

The thought disgusted me. Enough to make me want to throw up.

'I'm here to speak to Miss Edwards.'

I took 4 pills out of the box of paracetamol and swallowed them all, hoping they'd make me feel a little better.

'I told the studio that I didn't want to have anything to do with you,' I said as calmly as I could.

'And _I _told the studio that I have a right to speak to speak to the director of the film I invested almost any I time I chose. It's in the contract.' He held it out for me. I stood up, took it, threw it to the ground and then walked off. Both Tony and Marcus followed me.

I stopped when Marcus caught up with me.

'Do you want me to stay with you?' he asked me. He knew what had happened between Tony and I.

I shook my head, taking in a breath to try to get rid of the tears that I could feel building up.' It's OK. I can do this.'

'Are you sure?'

I nodded, even though I really wasn't sure.

'Well if you need me, anytime, just call me OK?'

I nodded again.

'Are you sure you don't want me to stay?'

'I'm OK. I can do this. It's no big deal.' I was trying to convince myself.

'OK' he replied, 'But if you need me, I'm here for you.' He ran a finger along my cheek.

'Thankyou,' I whispered.

He smiled at me, then turned and left, leaving me alone with Tony.


	34. Chapter 34 Tony

**_Sorry for taking forever and thanks for all your reviews. _**

**_Go check out the other story while you're waiting for me to put up the next chapter of this one. It's called 'Deception', penname: sushiandpickles._**

**_Hope you like this chapter, I'm still a bit unsure about it, but I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it's good enough for you guys. Leave a review and tell me what you think. _**

**_Much love!_**

**_And yes, you're awesome. Do I have to tell you every single time? Lol._**

* * *

'Tony, why can't you just leave the poor girl alone?'

She'd caught me trying to call Maria again. I knew she'd probably blocked my number but I still tried, occasionally, just incase. The studio weren't much help either. Whenever I called she was always 'busy'. I'd even dropped by a few times, but they always sent me away without seeing her.

I couldn't bring myself to just give up on her.

Especially when she still thought that I'd taken advantage of her.

'Pepper, listen-'

'No, Tony, you listen. This has been going on for long enough, and so far I've just ignored it.'

'Hardly,' I thought. She'd never _said _anything, she didn't have to. She'd made it pretty damn obvious that she didn't like what I was doing.

'You're lucky she's not trying to do you for harassment. Just leave it Tony, please.'

'Pepper, I didn't do anything wrong.'

She folded her arms. 'Tony, please can we drop this now? I have a mountain of papers that need signing by you and-'

'You don't believe me, do you?'

She sighed. 'I don't know what you're defining as wrong here. All I know is that she woke up in your bed.'

'But nothing happened ,I told you.' I'd told her a million times.

'Yes, Mr. Stark.'

I held my head in my hands. If Pepper didn't even believe me then how the hell was I ever going to be able to convince Maria ?

I stood up and looked Pepper directly in the eye.

'I didn't sleep with her. Honestly, I didn't. She means more to me than that. That's why you have to believe me. You have to help me Pepper.'

She looked startled; as startled as I felt. I had no idea where that had just come from.

'Now what I meant to say, was not what I just said. 'She means more to me than that.' Did I really just say that? Because that is really not what I meant, not that I'm saying I would, you know, just get her drunk and then, well, you know what then. I just... I didn't mean...'

I stopped, Pepper was smiling at me, as if she knew something I didn't.

'What?' I asked her.

She shook her head. 'Nothing.'

'No, you don't smile like that for nothing.'

'I believe you.'

'You do?'

'Yes, but it won't be so easy to convince Maria.'

I sat back down again, and two ideas just hit me at once.

They don't call me a genius for nothing.

'Go get me the contract Pepper.'

'Wh-'

'Just do it.'

While she went upstairs to get the contract I got to work on idea number two.

'Jarvis?'

'How can I be of assistance ,sir?'

'You got the surveillance tapes of that night Maria stayed?'

'Would you happen to know that date?'

'No, I don't, or I would have just told you that.'

'Of course you would have, sir.'

I tapped my fingers on the desk, impatiently.

'Can you hurry up? How long does it take?'

'Well if you'd given me the dates-'

'Yeah, yeah.'

This idea could not fail.

'I believe I've found the tapes ,sir.'

'Finally. Play me from 3.15am, my room.'

'Do I even want to know why ?'

I ignored him, watching the screen intently.

I saw myself walk into the room, and climb into the bed next to her. Nothing much happened for a while. Then I saw myself holding her. Her arm was definitely on my arm, pulling it around her.

I smiled.

Pepper walked in.

'I have the-' She stopped mid sentence.

I turned around.

'I thought you said nothing happened,' she said coldly.

I looked back at the screen.

Maria had started kissing me by this point.

Pepper put the contract down on my desk, and then turned to leave.

'Pepper, wait.'

'I don't want to see this Tony.'

'Pepper. Wait. Jarvis, fast forward.'

'As you wish, sir.'

I waited until I'd got through the whole of me and Maria making out. I was running my hands up her legs.

'Play.'

'Tony-'

'Wait.'

'No ,Tony-'

'Wait!'

I was holding Maria again.

'Jarvis, fast forward through the next half an hour.'

'I could just skip to half an hour later, sir.'

'No. Miss Potts doesn't trust me.'

I heard Pepper breathe a sigh of relief as she watch me get up, out of the bed.

'Tony, I'm so sorry.'

'Yeah.' I felt disappointed that she hadn't believed me, hadn't trusted me, but then, what did I expect? I had a reputation after all, and that was probably more than half of the problem.

An awkward silence lingered in the air.

I picked up the contract from off my desk.

'Do you need anything else, Mr. Stark?'

'No, that will be all Miss Potts.'

I looked through the contract, just to check that my first idea would work. The contract confirmed that it would. I took my phone and called the studio.

'Goodmorning, can I speak to Miss Maria Edwards please? It's urgent.'

'Can I take a name please?' asked the voice on the other end.

'And what about if I say no?'

There was silence on the other end, for a little while.

'Um, could you just give ,me a second?'

I smiled, probably some secretary who didn't know what to do, 'Sure.'

She put me on hold for a while and came back about a minute later.

'I'm sorry, Miss Edwards isn't taking any calls. Can I take a message?'

This is usually where I had to give up, but not this time.

'You know what, screw that. Can I talk to a...' I looked down at the contract, 'Mr Baker.'

'Ok. I'll just put you through.'

The phone rang again and after 5 rings a man answered.

'Hello. Who's speaking?' Yeah. It was definitely him. I recognised his voice from that meeting, where he went on and on.

'Hi Baker. It's Tony.'

'Tony?'

'Stark.'

'Oh Tony, hi, hello, how have you been?'

'I've been doing pretty good thanks.'

'Really? That's brilliant.' I rolled my eyes. Kiss ass.

'Well actually there is this one thing.'

'What is it?'

'I've been trying to contact Maria Edwards, director of the film, but I can never get through to her.'

'Well, she is pretty busy at the moment. Post production can be very trying, and she's pretty stressed out with the CGI at the moment. She been telling me how much she hates it.' The nervous laugh at the end let me know that he knew Maria was trying to avoid me.

'Thing is, I was looking the contract other day,' I said, holding it open in front of me.

'Yeah?'

'Yeah, and actually one of the terms of the investment was that I should be able to speak to the director almost any time I want.'

'Really?'

'Really.' He sounded really nervous now.

'Now, I don't want to get anyone into trouble, I just want to have a few words with Maria.'

'Right ,sure, uh ,OK.'

'Is she there?'

'Is she here? No. Uh, you know what, you just drop by anytime you want. I think she's working with the CGI team at the moment, so if you get someone to direct you to over there-'

I cut him off. 'Thanks Baker, really appreciate it.' I put the phone down. That was all I needed.

* * *

I asked to be directed to where the CGI work took place, didn't mention anything about Maria, and they sent me on the right path.

'Why the hell did I not think of this earlier?' I thought. Never mind. Better late than never.

I carried on walking to where I'd been directed to go, but stopped when I saw Maria sitting on the floor. It was the first time I'd seen her that she'd looked really happy, and there was something amazingly sexy about it. The happiness was radiating from her, like light from the sun. I'd never seen her like that before. It was beautiful.

God, I'd missed her.

She was sitting next to another guy, the one she was at that party with, the one she'd told me wasn't her boyfriend. What was his name?

Marcus.

As she leaned into him, I felt something burning inside of me; irrational anger. She was going to kiss him, she was actually going to kiss him.

Not if I had anything to do with it.

'Not interrupting anything, am I?'

She stopped and held her head in her hands. I couldn't help feeling pleased with myself.

'Not at all.' Marcus had got up off the floor by now.

'Good.I'd hate to think I was intruding or something like that.'

Marcus looked a little protective of her. I smiled at him.

'I'm here to speak to Miss Edwards.'

I looked past him to where Maria was sitting.

'I told the studio that I didn't want to have anything to do with you.' She tried to say it calmly, but I could hear her voice shaking slightly.

'And _I _told the studio that I have a right to speak to speak to the director of the film I invested almost any I time I chose. It's in the contract.'

I held out the copy, just to further prove my point. She got up and snatched the contract from my hand and then threw it to the floor. Then she walked off. I followed her, as did Marcus.

I tried to determine which was sexier; angry Maria or happy Maria ? It was a close call.

'Tony. Concentrate,' I told myself. I couldn't afford to mess up this time, no games, just the truth.

Marcus had caught up with her again. They two of them were speaking in hushed tones. He ran his finger along her cheek before he left, which caused the irrational anger to return. At that second I would have liked nothing better than to punch him in the face.

I think they call it jealousy.

We were alone now, her and I. It had been such a long time.

She slowly turned to look at me.

'Oh God,' I heard her whisper. Then she turned,walking back in the direction we'd just come from.

'Maria-'

'Tony, now is not a good time. I'm really busy and-'

'This won't take long.'

'I really don't have time for this.'

She walked into a room full of people sitting at computers. CGI.

'This is important.'

'It better you've got 5 seconds'

'Has anyone told you how beautiful you look today?'

'I cannot believe you. You really think that flattering me is gonna get you in my good books?'

She was right it was a stupid move.

'Ok, sorry, but you do look really good today. I mean you always look good, but today-'

'Can you just go? Please?'

'Maria, just li-'

'Tony, I don't want to hear it. Just piss off,' she said, walking over to a desk and picking up some papers, then proceeding to a photocopier in the corner of the room.

I stood behind her as she used the photocopier.

'I didn't sleep with you.'

'I thought I just told you to go away.'

'I can prove it.'

'I don't want proof. What I want is for you to fuck off,' she whispered angrily. She turned around but I was blocking her way. 'For fuck's sake.'

'Maria, please, you have to give me just this one chance.'

'I don't _have_ to do anything.' She tried to push past me, but I kept her pinned against the photocopier. 'Move.'

'One chance. Just one.'

'Get out of the way Tony.'

'Please.'

'If I have to hurt you I will.'

I knew what she meant. I remembered what happened last time. How could I forget? I panicked. The honesty thing was not going to plan. I was going to have to think of something else,quick.

'OK,OK, um, you hate CGI right?'

'What? What are you talking about? Tony move.'

'You know, I could help with that.' What the hell was I saying? I didn't know anything about CGI. I guess I'd have to learn pretty quick, besides how difficult could it be? And if it would get her on side so be it.

She looked at me suspiciously. 'You know about CGI?'

'Yeah, sure,' I lied. 'I could have it done it a couple of days, and you wouldn't even have to overlook the whole process.'

'You don't even know what I need doing.' I knew the idea was appealing to her. I could see it on her face.

'Well it can't be that much surely?' I hoped rather than asked. What the hell was I getting myself into?

She thought about it. 'I haven't got enough money to hand the project over _again_.'

'I'll do it for free.'

That she didn't believe.

'What's in it for you?'

'Well I did invest in this film. I don't want it to bomb because of the tacky CGI, no offense.'

'None taken. Can you move please?'

'Well since you asked so nicely.' I moved letting her go free.

'The CGI is yours,' she told me, walking back to the desk. 'This doesn't mean I like you, and it definitely doesn't mean I trust you.'

I sighed 'I know, but I wish you did.'

She turned around.

I looked deep into her eyes, as she looked into mine.

She broke eye contact and held her head in her hands.

'Maria, are you OK?' I wanted to hold her, but I couldn't risk pissing her off now.

'Oh God Tony, I remember.'


	35. Chapter 35 Maria

**_Yes I'm still alive. I know. It's taken forever and a day. I'll try and get the next chapter up quicker, promise!(It would be hard not to.) _**

**_I've been kinda busy with the other story (Deception- check it out!!) and life in general, so bear with me._**

**_Massive thanks to Ladyhawke Legend for being my beta reader. Really I should have made a few more changes on this chapter, but I think this will do._**

**_Let me know what you think guys *cough* REVIEW *cough*. You all know you're awesome, but I'll just confirm that for you._**

* * *

It was his eyes that did it. All of it just came flooding back. All at once I remembered, and what I was remembering I didn't like.

I didn't like it at all.

He was telling the truth. Nothing had happened between us; no thanks to me. It was _him _pushing _me_ away, if I was remembering correctly.

I couldn't believe that I'd behaved like that. I almost couldn't believe that what I was remembering had actually happened. I'd thought, or rather hoped, that I'd have a little more control over myself even if I was completely drunk.

How was I ever supposed to look at him again? Oh God, this was so embarrassing. My cheeks were burning, eyes staring down at the ground.

"I guess I owe you an apology," I murmured, the words sticking in my throat a little.

"No. No you don't," he replied, much to my surprise. "I'm the one that should be apologizing to you." He paused for a second before continuing. "Maria, I'm really, really sorry. Honestly."

"Sorry about what?"

"I'm sorry about this entire situation; about lying; about absolutely everything."

I forced myself to look at him. He sounded sincere but I wanted to see what his eyes said.

"You have to believe me!" he implored. I didn't answer him; instead, I just looked away. I wasn't sure what I believed at the moment.

"Maria?" He sighed. "You know that we didn't-"

"I know." I said interrupting him. I didn't want to hear him say it.

"Then what's wrong?"

"You lied to me." That was still a sticking point for me.

"I know, and I'm really sorry."

"You're sorry? And that's supposed to make it all better? You -" I forced myself to stop.

_Think it about Maria, what's the point in getting angry? What's it going to achieve? Absolutely nothing,_ I told myself, taking a deep breath.

I wouldn't relent, however. I _wanted _to be angry. Let's face it, what else could I do?

"You're a low life you know? You lied, and you led me to believe that I was easy enough to sleep with you, for, I don't even know how many months. Don't act like you're sorry, or pretend that you care about how I feel. You don't give a shi-."

I stopped. I wouldn't swear. He always made me swear. Not this time.

"You don't give a damn about how I feel. If you did, you would've left me alone a long time ago, or at least not have lied about something like that. The truth is that all you care about is getting into my pants. That's all you've cared about from day one. To you this is all a game, isn't it? Well Tony, I don't want to play." The volume I had been speaking at had been increasing gradually, so that last part I found myself shouting.

_Make a scene why, don't you? _I thought to myself. I really didn't want to draw attention to us. I'd probably just embarrassed myself in front of everyone. The shouting hadn't even made me feel any better; it had only made me feel more awkward, now that I'd stopped.

I felt vulnerable and naïve,and for the first time I realized that was exactly what I was. I could shout all I wanted, but in the end what could I do? Nothing.

"It's not a game, not anymore," Tony mumbled softly. I don't think it was meant for me to hear. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be, but honestly it's not like that at all. Can you just give me a chance to explain, please?"

I shook my head. "I have to go now. I have to work to do." I really didn't want to stand here and talk about this anymore; it was just so awkward.

"Maria, wait. Please." He grabbed my hand as I tried to walk past. I didn't like him touching me. I didn't like it because I liked the way it felt; all tingly. I guess that scared me. I suddenly found that I was allowing myself to indulge in that guilty pleasure. "Do you know why I didn't sleep with you?" he asked seriously.

He waited for a reply' but I didn't say anything. "Because you're different Maria; you're special."

"Tony, don't," I said, pulling my hand out of his grip.

He didn't try to stop me, just continued with his confession. "It's true. I was _so _tempted. You were there asking me to do what had been on my mind for so long, but I didn't, because you're not just another girl; you're not just another notch in the bedpost. I only took you home with me because I thought someone might try and take advantage of you, and I really didn't want that to happen to you. You're better than that Maria.'

"Am I?" I said, my voice laced with doubt. I didn't feel like I was better than that, not after the way I'd behaved.

"Yes. You are."

I looked up at him, seeing the truth in his dark eyes. Neither of us said anything for a while.

"And I'm really sorry for lying. I was a bastard. I know ,it was childish. It's just...I wanted you to believe that we'd slept together, to see how you'd react. I didn't realize at the time that it would upset you so much. I didn't mean to upset you. I never wanted to upset you."

I was starting to feel incredibly self-conscious. I felt like everyone was looking at us, even though I knew that they weren't.

"Tony, can we not do this now, please," I begged.

"Okay," he relented. "How about you show me what you've got already with the CGI? Just so I can get an idea of what kinda thing you'll need me to do," he then suggested, switching topics.

I was glad he'd just dropped it like that; maybe he did have some sort of compassion after all. I still wasn't sure how sincere his apology was though. I couldn't help thinking that he was just trying to get on my good side. Perhaps he was only regretting not taking advantage of me when he had the chance.

'Oh Maria, always to keen to see the bad in people,' said the voice in my head, 'especially him. Are you ever going to give the guy a chance?'

The answer to that was most probably not. Tony Stark didn't deserve any chances in my opinion. He hadn't slept with me, fine. But what about all the other women?

I walked over to the main computer where someone was sitting, Tony following behind.

"I need to use this computer," I said. I had absolutely no patience with so-called experts.

"Maria, there's a computer over there which we cou-," Tony began to say, but I abruptly cut him off.

"No. I need this one," I said stubbornly.

The man using the computer turned to look at me before moving.

"Are you feeling OK, Miss Edwards?"

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Are you sure? You look kinda flushed."

"I'm sure. Could you excuse me please?"

The man didn't argue and walked away, probably to find another computer. Well, that wasn't at _all _awkward.

Tony remained remarkably silent while I logged onto the computer. I wondered if he was laughing at me behind my back. I was just about to turn and look at him when he spoke.

"He's right, you know? You _do_ look kinda flushed."

I looked at him. He had to be mocking me, surely.

"Oh," he said, realizing. "You're blushing-,"

"Like a virgin," I finished off. "I know." I was probably blushing even more by now.

He smiled. "Actually I wasn't going to say that."

"Sure you weren't," I replied, eyes glued to the computer screen.

He laughed and leaned into me slightly.

My head started swimming as his scent began to overwhelm me. Not this again.

"Miss Edwards," he said softly, "you have really and truly earned my respect." The feeling of his breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine.

"Uh-huh," I murmured weakly.

Man, this so was completely messed up. Did I like this guy or not? I would have sworn not, but why would I react like this otherwise. And if I was attracted to him, where did this leave Marcus and me?

Well, just because I was attracted to him, it didn't mean it was a good idea to act on it; in fact, in this case it would probably be a decidedly bad idea.

I did not want to have anything to do with Tony Stark.

Real smart move it was deciding to contract the CGI work out to him; I was in trouble.

"You don't believe me do you?" he asked sitting back, much to my relief.

I really didn't want to get into one of these kinds of conversations again.

"Tony, seeing as we're here to work, how about we try and get something done?"

"Fine with me," he replied.

I opened up the CGI software and loaded up a half finished scene.

"Okay genius, let's see what you can do," I said, getting up off the chair so Tony could take a seat at the computer.

He looked kind of startled. "What, now?"

"Yes, now."

"Here?"

"No, across the hallway," I said sarcastically, gesturing with my hand. "Of course here. Where do you think I meant?"

"Uh…okay," he said, sitting down at the computer somewhat reluctantly. "You know, it's been a while since I've done anything like this."

I just rolled my eyes.

"And I've never used this system before."

"Tony, you didn't really think I was going to hand over the project without even trialing you, did you?"

"Well, I kinda thought seeing as I'm-," he stopped suddenly.

"Seeing as you're what?"

"No. Nothing. Never mind."

I finished off for him. I knew exactly what he was going to say, and it amused me. "You thought, seeing as you're Tony Stark, I'd just let you have the project without a second thought."

He had no problem admitting it.

"Pretty much, yeah."

I laughed and shook my head. "You have a ridiculously large ego, you know?"

"Well, they say that the size of a man's ego correlates to-," he cut himself off again.

"I know." I refused to have a discussion about anything of that sort right now.

"Don't worry Maria; you're doing a good job knocking it down to size."

"Your ego?"

He smiled. "Of course. The other thing you tend to make bigger."

"Tony, don't."

"Sorry. I guess you can kinda see that anyway."

On hearing that comment, my eyes seemed to involuntarily wonder to parts of his body which I really shouldn't have been looking at. Then on finding what he'd just said to be true, I blushed again and fixed my eyes back on to the computer screen where he'd seemingly made no progress.

"Are you actually going to do anything?" I asked. I thought I sounded a little breathless; I couldn't help it. Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice.

"It's you standing there. You're kinda distracting, you know?"

"How am I distracting?"

"You-. Never mind."

He appeared to just be pressing keys at random.

"Tony, what are you doing?"

"Getting familiarized," he mumbled. He seemed to be concentrating more on what he was doing on the computer than anything else. "Familiarizing myself with the software. Each program is a little different. I haven't used this particular one before."

"You don't have to patronize me." Just because he was an electronic genius didn't mean everyone else was dumb. Or was it something to do with the fact that I was a female?

"Was I being patronizing? Sorry, I didn't even notice," he said, still engrossed in what he was doing on the computer. "Whoa. What did I just do?"

"You just deleted everything," I told him, feeling my frustration building.

"Okay," he said, continuing his keystrokes.

"No," I said. "Don't press that."

But it was too late. I sighed. At least we had back ups somewhere. I was thinking of scraping that scene anyway.

"Okay, what did I just do?"

"You just saved over what we already had, with your version, which was basically nothing."

"Okay."

I was becoming more and more dubious about handing over the CGI work to him.

"Tony, you know what-," I started.

"And it's back," he said happily. I looked back at the screen. He'd somehow managed to get back what he'd started off with.

"How did you do that?" I asked flabbergasted.

He smiled. "I think I've got the hang of this now."

His fingers moved over the keyboard quickly and gracefully as he began typing the instructions into the computer; images flashing across the screen.

"Tony what are you doing?"

He just continued working, completely ignoring my question.

One of the other programmers walked up behind up me.

"Wow. Now that is what I call impressive."

Tony continued his programming for a couple more minutes, before sitting back; letting me admire his work.

"Wow," was all I could say at first. He really was a genius. "How could you do that, in just a couple of minutes?"

"I'm not finished yet."

"How is that not finished?" I asked, looking at the new CGI scene in awe.

"Well, you can't do much else with it on this system, but my system at home's a lot quicker, and much more advanced."

"You take your work home with you?"

He grinned. "Always. So how successful was my bid for the contract, Miss Edwards?"

"Well, I'm going to have to think about it." I smiled, and then stood up and walked over to the my desk to pick up the disk with all the information he'd need on it.

"You've secured the contract," I said placing the disk in his hands. "Congratulations," I whispered to him before walking off.

Why I did that I have no idea. I wasn't flirting with him was I? Why would I do that?

Tony Stark messes me up. It's official.

"Maria, wait."

"It's all on the disk Tony," I called. "I've got people to meet and places to be."

I walked out of the room, feeling a little bad about just leaving him there, but he found his way in here, so he could find his way out again. The fact that he was a genius probably wouldn't hurt either.

I needed to tell Baker that I'd just handed the CGI project over again, pronto. Then of course there were the finances to deal with, and the team I'd hired who were working at the moment.

But what I really needed to do was to call Marcus.


	36. Chapter 36 Tony

_**Sorry it's been so long. Seems like forever ago doesn't it? **_

_**Ok, well this one I'm dedicating to WarriorPrincess122, for inspiring me and 'cuz I said I would. Sorry it's not a long one, but it's something to keep you going. Leave me a review just to say hi. It's been a while.**_

_**Love you all, you awesome people!**_

* * *

The mission was a simple one.

Seek and destroy.

The Metallica song blared through the internal speakers of the Iron Man suit the spurring me on. Not that I needed much spurring on.

This was my responsibilty. I was following this thing through right to the bitter end, no matter how difficult it would be or how much Pepper, or anyone else, hated it.

Even if it killed me.

And that really wasn't that unlikely.

I decided not to dwell on that thought.

I'd never been to North Korea.

Apparently I had some pretty big fans there. Well, fans of my weapons.

I thought it was about time I payed them a little visit. You never know, we might just get on like a house on fire.

Might even be a few fireworks at the end of the night.

You know, if the relationship was that... _explosive._

"Hey Jarvis what's the night life like in Pyongyang?"

"Planning on a night on the town are we, sir ?"

I smiled. "Do you think the language barrier would get in the way too much?"

"In the way of what exactly ,sir?"

"You're answering my questions with questions. Not helping. You know what just forget it, just turn up the music Jarvis."

_Running,_

_On our way,_

_Hiding,_

_You will be,_

_Dying,_

_A thousand deaths._

_Searching,_

_Seek and destroy._

_Searching,_

_Seek and destroy._

The music faded away.

"You have an incoming call sir," Jarvis informed me, "From Miss Potts."

Pepper.

"Put her through," I said, wondering if I would regret it.

Probably.

"Tony, where are you?" She sounded calm but I could pick up on the underlying frustration.

"Me ? I'm uh..." I trailed off, trying to make sense of what Jarvis had just flashed up on the HUD.

_You've got to be kidding me._

"You have two F22 Raptors closing in on you, sir," Jarvis told me, reiterating what I'd just read on the screen.

"No shit," I muttered although I wasn't sure I quite believed it. Seriously, what were the chances? Deja vu or what?

I heard Pepper's voice, but my mind wasn't able to process what she'd said. I was too busy trying to figure out some kind of strategy. Last time those things nearly took me out.

Mind you this time I didn't have to worry about what damage I caused. If they were after me they had to be the bad guys right? Everyone knew what Ironman stood for by now,surely?

"Tony!" She'd raised her voice, yeah, she was pissed.

"Huh?"

"You need to be here, now."

"Yeah well that might be... slightly impossible." I mumbled. "Jarvis can you I.D those jets?"

I knew they were getting close now but I needed to know that these things were actually against me, before blowing them out of the sky. That was if they didn't blow me out of the sky first.

"I.D what? Tony what are you doing? What do you mean by 'slightly impossible'?"

I chose to ignore her. Explaning was probably not a good idea. I remembered what someone had told me once, before a press conference I think-If in doubt keep your mouth shut. I'm not sure it had the desired effect at the time because most of the time I wasn't 'in doubt'.

Just contraversial.

"I'm afraid I can't I.D those planes sir, but I can tell you that they have most definatly been purchased illegally," Jarvis told me. That was about as much as I'd suspected.

"Tony, what's going on? Where are you?"

I ignored her again.

"I've just had a very irrate Miss Edwards on the phone."

Maria?

That caught my full attention.

Probably why she said it.

"She's not happy Tony."

"Is she ever ?" I commented. I couldn't help but smile just thinking about her getting all worked up.

"Tony, this isn't a joke." Obviously she could hear the smile in my voice."This will be the third meeting you've canceled this week."

"Yes." Well what was I supposed to say to that? I had more important things on my mind at the moment like trying to stay alive.

And Maria.

"Well Tony, I just hope for your sake that you have a good excuse."

"How about saving the world? Is that a good enough excuse?" Never mind fighting off two F22's.

There was a brief pause as she registered what I'd just said.

"Saving the world? Tony, please tell me you're not-"

"Sorry Pepper. Gotta go."

Strangely enough I suddenly felt a huge sense of relief that I was here being targeted by two fighter jets rather than back in California in a meeting with Maria. How I was going to explain to her about having less than half the CGI work done I still hadn't figured out.

'I've been busy' probably wouldn't cut it.

She was _really_ viscous when she wanted to be. Fighting off two jets _had _to be easier.

I hadn't intended to miss the meeting (again). In truth it had complelty slipped my mind. But actually this was all working out quite nicely.

Until next time I had to see her.

_Ouch._

It hurt just thinking about it.

I ended the call wondering which of the following three would be the most difficult; dealing with Pepper, dealing with the two F22's closing in for the kill or dealing with Maria.

I was betting on the third, but between the first and third it was a close call.

The second?

No chance.


	37. Chapter 37 Maria

**_Hey. Another chapter already!!! _**

**_I really shouldn't have writen this. I'm supposed to be revising. I only meant to write the start but then I couldn't stop. I did intend for it to be a little longer but I think this works quite nicely as a chapter(and I'm too lazy to re-read it and add bits in) and I didn't see the sense in making you guys wait any longer._**

**_Thanks for all the reviews last chapter._**

**_Love you all, you awesome people!_**

* * *

"It's the third time he's done this to me this week, the _third _time, in one bloody week," I said pacing up and down the room in front of Marcus who was sitting on the sofa realigning the cushions.

"Maria. I really think you need to calm down. Why don't you just sit down? " Marcus said calmly. He'd been listening to me ranting about this for the past 5 minutes, since Tony's P.A had called up to cancel the meeting.

Again.

"No Marcus, you don't understand. I've had people on my case about this all week and every time I say 'Don't worry I've got a meeting with Tony tonight. It'll be sorted by tomorrow' and every single time he cancels. How the hell do you think that makes me look?"

"Maria, it's not your fault that-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Three times, Marcus. _Three _times."

"They can't blame you for him cancelling."

"Can't they? This is Baker were talking about here. He doesn't give a damn about who's fault it is, he just wants it done, and in his eyes this is all my responsibility. My job."

"Maria-"

"And you know what, he's right. It _is_ my job. What the hell was I thinking? Contracting the work out to Tony Stark. Could there be a more stupid thing to do?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it Maria, it's not your fault," he said, trying to make me feel better.

"No, it _is_ my fault,' I told him stubbornly, "but I tell you what. If he messes this up for me he's gonna wish he'd never been born."

Tony seemed to have a talent for messing things up for me.

He'd caused me nothing but aggravation since the day we'd met.

Maybe it would have been easier to have just slept with him.

But my virginity was one thing he was never getting.

__

Ever.

I sighed and sat down on the sofa next to Marcus. He put his arm around me and I rested my head on his chest, which, I think, took him by suprise. I'd been backing off recently. The last meeting with Tony had confused things a little. Every time I was with Marcus I'd find myself thinking about Tony, and because of that I'd put some distance between us.

But now I was pissed off with Tony, and by getting close to Marcus I felt like I was having some kind of revenge.

I pulled myself closer to Marcus and he hesitantly put a hand on my waist. I pulled his arm around me so he was holding me tightly. This was the closest we'd ever been.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I could hear his heart beating against his chest. It was nice having him hold me like this.

I felt safe.

Eventually he spoke.

"Maria," he said softly.

"Uh huh."

He took his hand from around my waist, running a finger along my cheek and then under my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

He looked down into my eyes for a little while almost as if he was having to summon up the courage to be able say what he wanted to tell me.

"You're... You're beautiful."

I smiled.

I felt beautiful when I was with Marcus.

He made me feel beautiful.

"And I know you probably figured this out already but... but I..."

I knew what he was going to say and I freaked!

_Oh God. Don't say it. Don't say it. Not now!_

I was still confused about my feelings for him and I had feeling that those 3 little words would confuse things even more.

"I-"

I kissed him before he could say it. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it was a spur of the moment thing - the only thing I could think to do to stop him saying them. Ironically it was probably end up complicating things even more.

The fact that I was enjoying sharing this kiss with him was not helping either. Even though I knew that I should stop, I found myself refusing to pull away.

I let myself go completely, and any barriers that I may have been putting up melted away.

I refused to think about anything other than the here and now, and at the moment I was kissing Marcus, and loving every second of it.

It was awkward, kissing him like this. I really wasn't in the right position.

He took hold of my waist pulling me onto his lap, to make things a little easier, and kissed me back.

He wasn't a bad kisser. Very gentle. Very controlled.

Nothing like Tony.

__

Tony.

At the thought of Tony I found myself kissing Marcus more fiercely. He followed my lead kissing me more a little more passionately but in a totally controled way. He allowed a hand to wonder onto my thigh, rubbing it gently, almost cautiously.

Soon my hands were fumbling around pushing up his t-shirt, running over his chest. Our lips parted as I pushed the t-shirt off and threw it to the ground and then our lips reconnected again.

I pulled myself tight against his warm body running my hands down his now bare back before he pushed me back onto the sofa and leaned over me as we continued to kiss frantically. My arms and legs were wrapped tight around him.

This was going way too far, but I didn't want to stop now.

There were worse people to lose my virginity to than Marcus.

__

And if Marcus takes it then there's no way that Tony can.

I knew it was completely wrong to do this for that reason, but I continued regardless.

My hands were on the zip of his jeans. He took hold of my hands gently, pulling them away and stopped kissing me, looking down into my eyes.

"Maria, are you sure that you want to do this ?"

I smiled.

"Why wouldn't I ?"

"It's just, I want to make sure. Are you sure you want your first time to be like this? I don't want you to regret it. I know you want it to be special. I know you've been waiting for a long time, so if you want to wait, if you want to do this differently you can just tell me. I'll understand completely. OK?"

I thought about what he'd said and realised that he was right.

I _did _want my first time to be special.

I was doing this for all the wrong reasons.

I'd waited so long for this.

Doing this to get back at Tony was totally wrong. How could I even consider doing it? It was almost as bad as losing my virginity to Tony.

Nevermind the fact that it was completely unfair on Marcus.

"I-I'm so sorry Marcus."

He smiled a bitter sweet smile smile. "It's fine," he said getting off me and picking up his t-shirt from off the ground.

I sat up, unable to look at him.

I couldn't believe how close I'd come to doing something so immoral. If Marcus was a different kind of guy...

How could I?

Recently I'd been feeling like I didn't know myself at all.

_The old Maria would never have even dreamed of doing something like that._

Someone once told me that this was what California did to people.

It wasn't California. It was Tony.

He brought out the worst in me.

Marcus put the t-shirt back on while I sat on the sofa staring at the ground in embarrassment.

"Hey," Marcus said, kneeling in front of me, taking both my hands. "It's OK. You don't need to feel bad."

I didn't reply.

He didn't know the half of it.

"Can I have a smile?"

I tried to force a smile onto my face, but I was embarrassed and angry.

Angry with Tony.

"Maria, do you want me to go?"

"Uh..." I couldn't really say yes could I?

I didn't have to.

"I tell you what I'll just go make you a cup of hot chocolate and then I'll leave you to it."

I smiled. A cup of hot chocolate seemed to be Marcus' solution to everything.

"Finally a real smile."

He got up and headed to the kitchen, leaving me on my own in the living room for a few minutes. I consoled myself by thinking about horrible ways to get revenge on Tony.

Just I was moving onto the more violent ideas Marcus came in with a mug. He handed it to me and I took a sip.

Perfect.

As always.

"Well I'll just leave you to enjoy that," he told me, straightening a pile of trashy magazines on the table, before heading towards the door."If you need anything at all just give me a call, OK?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"Well uh...bye."

Goodbyes were always awkward with Marcus. Neither of us knew what to say.

"Bye Marcus."

As soon as the door was closed I was consumed by rage. It was Marcus that had been keeping me calm all this time, but now he was gone.

One name echoed around my head.

__

Tony.

I picked up my phone. I'd been avoiding making direct contact with him but now I'd had enough. More than enough.

I had no idea what I was going to say, or what calling him would achieve in the long term.

All I knew was that I wanted to shout at him. Hopefully, it would make me feel better, if nothing else.


	38. Chapter 38 Tony

**_Hiya guys. It's been a while hasn't it? I say that everytime tho, so I guess it's starting to lose meaning._**

**_Well I'm on holiday now, so techinically I should have more time to do some writing._**

**_Technically_**

**_I've changed the F22's to MiG's (technical reasons- ask ladyhawke legend) and I went back and changed the, in chapter 36 as well._**

**_It's not a long chapter but it'll have to do for now._**

**_Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You guys make my day._**

* * *

I was in trouble.

Two fighter jets and a dangerously angry virgin.

Woman, I mean.

I 'respected' her now which meant the fact that she was a virgin was of no significance whatsoever, seeing as sex was no longer in the agenda.

_Yeah right.  
_

I had intended this to be a _simple _mission. It seemed things were getting more and more complicated by the minute.

"Sir, I would strongly recommend that you concentrate on staying alive at the moment," Jarvis told me when I insisted on taking Maria's call.

"That's exactly what I'm doing, Jarvis." If I didn't take her call the MiG's might as well have me.

"Well if you insist, Sir."

"I do."

"Tony?!" She was furious. I could hear it already. God. It seemed like an eternity ago that I'd heard that voice. Still, as gorgeous as her voice was, I really didn't want to hear it right at that moment.

"Maria. Hi. I'm so glad you called," I lied.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't be. I've got plenty to say, and none of it's nice."

Her response was surprisingly dignified. I'd expected her to jump right into to yelling verbal abuse at me.

" Well actually I was just about to give you a call." Another lie.

"Coincidental that," she replied, sarcasm practically dripping from her tone.

"Yeah I just, uh, wanted to apologise-"

"For canceling the third time this week? For jeopardising my career? Or just being a complete and utter bastard in general?"

"Well-" She didn't give me a chance to reply.

"Tell me Tony, what's so important that you have to cancel on me three times?"

"I don't think you'd believe me," I told her while trying to get a lock on one of the jets.

"Go on, Tony. Shock me. What was it? A party? A girl? Actually make that plural."

"No." I replied firing at the closest of the two jets and narrowly missing an oncoming missile fired at me from the other jet.

"Then what exactly are you doing, Tony? And what the hell was that noise?"

"That noise was the sound of missile that failed to hit its target " I said smugly. I'd managed to get a hit on one of the two planes.

The bad news was I'd pissed the other one off.

"Tony, are you playing games with me?"

"Maria. You know what, I'm kind of busy, so can I call you back?"

"Don't you dare hang up on me Stark!"

"No, I'm not going to hang up on you I just-"

"You canceled on me three times. I think the very least I deserve is a five minute phone call."

"Of course but-"

The first of the two jets was going down in flames. That had been just too easy.

"No, Tony. You will listen to exactly what I have to say."

But the second jet was going full out now. It was impossible to even attempt to get a lock when I was being fired at so relentlessly.  
I cursed as I narrowly avoided the third of the three missiles shot at me. Obviously these guys were in abundant supplies of them.

"Did you just swear at me?" Maria asked.

"No. I didn't. Maria I really need to go."

I decided to go supersonic. It seemed like I didn't really have any other options at the moment. I had to be careful though. I needed to make sure I had enough power to get me home.

"If the line goes dead and you are a goner Tony," she threatened.

"Yeah," I muttered, "I will be."

"What are you? Suicidal?"

"No."

_Well actually, going on a mission like this? Some might say yes.  
_

"Good, 'cuz I don't have time. If anyone should be suicidal it should be me. Why are you so intent on screwing things up for me, Tony? When I don't want to see you you're there, and when I need to see you you're not. I swear Tony, after this CGI work, it is over. If you don't stay away from me I'm going to get a restraining order. Do you have any idea ho-"

I interrupted her. "Did you just call me up so you could just shout at me or was there actually a point to all this?"

She was silent for a few seconds. Usually, I'd let her rant on at me, but at the moment I had bigger fish to fry.

Much bigger.

"I-I want a meeting."

"Yeah, well that's impossible at the moment. Speak to my P.A."

"I want a meeting tomorrow night."

"I can't I've got a meetings all day-"

S.H.I.E.L.D.

"And you won't be back until ten, I know, but after that you're free."

"How do you know that?" I asked, a little surprised.

"I spoke to your P.A."

"You've been discussing my schedule, with my P.A?" I almost couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I have. Now, I want a meeting at 10.30 tomorrow. Miss Potts told me that it was too late and that you'd be tired but I want you to tell her that actually it's absolutely fine."

I didn't reply, still shocked that these two women were talking about my schedule behind my back. I wondered what other information Maria had got out of Pepper.

"Tony!"

"It's a little late, don't you think?" Even though I knew categorically that nothing would happen, part of me liked the idea of having her over at that time of night.

"If I don't have my meeting tomorrow night then I'd really tighten up your security, Tony. A pissed of woman is not a nice thing to encounter in the middle of the night."

I lingered on that thought. It was one I liked. Maybe it was worth canceling again.

"Dangerous?" I asked.

"Very."

I smiled. "You can have your meeting Maria. I'll be in all night."

"Good," she said and with that ended the call.

The second jet seemed to have given up.

_Honestly these North Koreans. Give up too easily.  
_

Well, at least that was sorted.

Now I needed to go blast some weapons.

And then do a whole load of CGI work.


	39. Chapter 39 Maria

_**Hi again. Another chapter, up quickly and a decent length. That's unusual isn't it?**_

_**Well, I'm just telling you guys now I never promised a happy ending.**_

_**On the other hand I never said it would be a sad ending either.**_

_**Well that wasn't helpful at all.**_

_**Carry on reading and reviewing.**_

_**I love you guys.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

"I don't want to do this," I thought aloud.

It had been a real crappy day, mostly because I'd been being harassed about the finish date for the film. I could understand people's concerns, but saying "I've got it under control" all day is really quite tiring.

And on top of that I'd had to do some promo for the film.

Chat shows.

_Urgh._

The host had got my name wrong.

_And now we're going to talk to up and coming film director Miss Marie Edwards._

_Actually it's Maria._

And then there's that awkward laugh.

I hate that.

He kept asking awkward questions about my childhood. It was like the feature was that I came from Harlem.

I was quite dismissive. It had probably come across as rude, but I hate people prying. What right did anyone have to be telling the whole of the U.S about my life?

I just wanted to talk about the film.

Actually I hadn't want to talk at all. Not live on T.V. in front of millions of people to watch me mess up.

It was horrible being in front of the camera, especially when I was so used to being behind it. I'd had to do some lunch time interview. There were no retakes. It was live.

I was pretty sure I'd screwed that up.

I was tired and stressed. I'd been telling other people that I had everything under control, but it really didn't feel like it at the moment.

What I wanted to do right now was sleep.

But I needed the CGI work. I'd been waiting too long and if I didn't go get it tonight I might not be able to get it for weeks. Tony had a nasty habit of cancelling on me.

I sighed frustrated. Outfit trouble. Today was relentless. Maybe God didn't want me to go. Well he was going to have to do more than that to stop me.

I'd lost count of how many times I'd changed. None of my outfits were quite right: too casual, too smart, too dressy.

Various business suits, shirts, skirts and trousers were now in a messy pile of 'rejected' outfits on my bed.

I'd eventually settled for a black dress I hadn't worn for years, not since I'd first moved to Hollywood. It was the dress I'd worn when I'd landed my first movie contract which was the reason why I'd kept it. It made me feel confident.

I didn't allow myself to look at myself in the full length mirror when I put it on, I'd only change again if I did. Instead I forced myself to get on with my make-up.

_It's just a meeting. No big deal._

I caught sight of myself in the mirror by the front door.

_No! No! No!_

I knew exactly what Stark would think if I turned up to his house like this.

It wasn't slutty- I didn't do slutty- but it did kind of look like I was dressed up for a date or something.

_Argggg!_

It was 10 past 10 now. I was already late and I wasn't even on my way yet, but I _had _to change again. I couldn't go to a meeting with Tony Stark like _this._

I was about to turn around and head back to my bedroom to change yet again as my phone rang.

Tony.

I sighed as I picked up the call.

"Hi Tony. I'm sorry I-" I was going to apologize for being late but he cut me off.

"You're late," he stated, "Or did you just change you're mind. You could have called you know."

"It's only 10 past. You've turned up 20 minutes before, so I hardly think you're qualified to lecture me," I pointed out. "Besides, you told me you'd be in all night."

"I will be," he told me. "_All_ night." I hated the way he said it. I knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Nothing is going to happen tonight Tony," I told him "So you can get that thought right out of your head."

_I really need to change._

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss Edwards," he answered trying to feign innocence.

"And you can drop the 'butter wouldn't melt' act as well."

He laughed.

"I saw you on T.V. today."

I sighed.

_Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse._

"Look Tony. I've had a rough day and I really don't need this right now so-" I started.

"Actually I was just going to say I thought you did pretty well. I wouldn't have been able to guess you were camera shy from that interview. You were very diplomatic."

Was Tony Stark being _nice _to me?

"Um, thanks."

"And you looked gorgeous by the way. Very _very_ sexy."

"Tony. Don't."

I should have seen that one coming.

He laughed again.

"So how late are you going to be Miss Edwards ?"

I really wanted to change, but he was right. I was already late. I knew he didn't care about being late, but I did. Besides, it wouldn't matter about my outfit. He'd try and get me to stay the night whatever I was wearing.

"I'm heading out right now," I told him.

"Good. I'll see you soon then and I've got something for you by the way."

"Something like what?" I asked but he'd already put the phone down.

I picked up a clutch and threw my purse, phone and keys into it and even though it was a warm night I grabbed a coat intending to slip it on when I got to Tony's to hide my outfit.

I sighed, resisting the urge to go change again, and stepped out of my front door slamming the door behind me.

I felt nervous and it was stupid.

But something didn't quite feel right.

Maybe I should have just cancelled.

_Why are you nervous? What do you think is going to happen, Maria?_

I shook my head trying to keep focused. I was just going to get the long overdue CGI work.

Long overdue I reminded myself.

_I'm mad at him. I will not let him off the hook._

As always part of me questioned that.

_Are you really mad, or is it just easier to be mad than to admit how you really feel?_

"I hate him!" I said aloud. I thought about all the women he'd slept with and all the times he'd messed me around.

I got in my car energised with maybe not hate, but strong dislike certainly, but still I felt a little uneasy. Perhaps it was because it was dark; I hate driving in the dark.

I headed out of West Hollywood to Malibu where Tony lived. I desperately needed to fill up. I was running low on gas. I probably had enough to get me to Tony's house, just, but there was no way I'd have enough to get me back again.

There was a little gas station not far from where Tony lived, one of those twenty four hour pay at pump ones. I'd fill up there on the way.

I pulled in at the dimly lit gas station feeling particularly uneasy. I really didn't feel comfortable here.

I considered driving on to Tony's house and pretending that I didn't realise how low on gas I was. He'd have enough gas to get me home surely. But did I really want to ask Stark to do me a favour again?

It was probably exactly what I should have done.

"Don't be stupid Maria," I told myself getting out of the car. "Scared of the dark?"

I felt nervous the whole time I was filling up, willing the pump to go faster.

I just wanted to get out of this place.

"You should be."

As I turned around to get back into my Mazda I heard a voice.

"Don't move lady."

I froze.

"Just put the keys and the purse on the ground and nobody is gonna get hurt."

I didn't move.

I'd just had a crap day, and now I was going to have to give up my car as well? No. I don't think so.

"Hey, lady. Put the keys and the purse down."

I still didn't move.

"I've got a gun here."

I turned around.

I saw three men standing there, right next to my car. All of them armed. How did I not sense them there before?

This was the first time I'd been threatened with a gun in California, but not the first time I'd been threatened in my life.

Lots of people had guns.

From my experience, most people used them to threaten other people rather than to actually kill.

These guys was obviously going for a robbery rather than a murder.

They weren't going to shoot me, unless I made them freak out.

"The purse and the keys, lady," he told me again.

"No," I said calmly.

The men walked up to me, closing in around me. I was backed up against the pump.

I was shaking now, and not from the cold.

"Give them to me," he growled.

"No," I said again. It was a stupid idiotic thing to do. A car you can replace. It's not so simple when it comes to a life.

"Are you fucking crazy?" the man yelled. I wondered for a second if I was. What the hell was I doing? "I've got a fucking gun!"

"So shoot me," I challenged. I felt a strange sense of calm as I said it. Part of me believed that he would, and that it would all be over. I knew I wasn't ready to die yet, but all I could think was maybe I'd get to see my Dad again.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

The men put the guns away. I felt a hand close around my throat and my keys and purse snatched out of my grasp. One of the men had a hold of my wrists. I gasped for air as the hand around my throat was released. My head was spinning from the lack of oxygen.

I was aware of two of the men getting into the car, but the third stood in front of me, pressing me up against the pump.

They had what they wanted, so what was he doing to do? Was he going to kill me? Had I underestimated these guys?

He ran a finger along my check, and then over the rest of my body. I hadn't felt so violated since I was 15.

His sinister eyes slid down my chest and then my legs, they made me feel dirty, just by looking at them.

But what was he doing? Playing with his prey?

"Hey beautiful," he said surprisingly softly. "Where are you going all dressed up like that?"

I couldn't have answered even if I wanted to. My throat was dry, I couldn't have formed any words if I tried.

"You know you are one stubborn bitch," he told me. He laughed. His laugh was horrible. "But at least now I got a reason to do this. Baby, if you'd just put down those keys-" he laughed. "Then I wouldn't have time to have seen just how damn sexy you are."

I felt like I was going to throw up. I wasn't scared. I was terrified, fighting back the tears that were threatening to escape.

He took a hold of my hands, pinning my wrists above my head against the pump and moving closer to me.

"Those two guys, they've got what they want. A car and some money. But now I'm gonna get what I want," he whispered. "Do you know what I want baby?"

_Fuck._

He laughed his horrible laugh again before telling me what he wanted. "You," he whispered.

_He's going to rape me. Fuck. I'm going to lose my virginity to a rapist. My first time, and I'm going to be raped._

Tears were streaming down my face.

"Please," I whispered. It was all I could get out.

The man ignored me and kissed me lightly, before moving one hand to my throat and using his other hand to push up the skirt of my dress.

I closed my eyes.

"My first time can't be like this. It _can't._ This has to be a nightmare. I'll wake up in a minute. I'll open my eyes and I'll wake up in bed."

I opened them.

But it wasn't a nightmare.

This was real.

He had his hand on my thigh, pushing my leg up.

And I was powerless to stop him. I could barely breath, barely stand, never mind trying to fight him off.

_Dear God. Please, please help me. I'll do anything. I'd rather die than this. Please. Anything._

"What the fuck are you doing man?"

Suddenly I was free to breathe again. His hand was off my throat.

The two men were mumbling. I couldn't hear what they were saying, I just prayed to God that they were just going to shoot me. Anything rather than _that._

"Get in the fucking car," one man yelled to another. "I'll deal with the fucking bitch."

Next thing I knew I was being rammed into the pump.

I heard a ear splitting scream.

Then I realised it was me screaming.

And then I was laying on the ground.

They're gone.

And I'm free.

_Thankyou father._

It wasn't until I tried to sit up that I felt the agonising pain. My head felt like it was going to explode, my shoulder felt like it was on fire. I was fighting to stay conscious. I could feel liquid running down my neck.

Blood.

I lent back on the pump for support, my hand going to my head to try and slow down the bleeding. I tried to ignore the pain but it was impossible.

Even breathing hurt.

I had no phone, no money, nothing. Here I was miles away from phone. I needed to get help quickly before I just bled to death.

_Tony._

It was stupid. Here I was head cracked open, life on the line and all I can think is _Fuck I left my coat in the car, now he's going to see me in this dress._

I tried to stand holding on to the pump for support. It took me a while. Keeping balance was so difficult. I felt like I was going to pass out any second.

_Come on Maria. You can do this. You have to do this._

And so I began my trek to Tony's house.

I'd never wanted to see him so desperately in my life.

I made slow progress, having to stop every now and then to get my balance, to wait for the spinning to stop. Every step was agony but every step brought me closer to a chance of survival.

My legs were shaking.

My lungs ached.

I couldn't stand any longer. I collapsed, rolling over to try and get on to my hands and knees.

I'd crawl the rest of the way if I had I had to. If I could possibly could.

I wasn't sure I'd make it.

But I had to try.


	40. Chapter 40 Tony

**_New school year, new chapter and a new blog if anyone's interested..._**

**_Sorry this took so long. It starts off better than it finishes because I wrote the last part in a rush. I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer._**

**_The next chapter should be up much quicker providing that school doesn't get any more hectic. _**

**_Thankyou for being so patient you wonderful people. Don't forget to review!!! (Like you'd forget. That's for amateurs right?)_**

**_I love you all you awesome people. _**

**_Cheers._**

* * *

It was 9.40.

The food should have been there any minute. Mexican.

Her mother was Mexican, so she'd have to like Mexican food, right?

Pepper stood watching me for a little while as I started to light some candles. It was kind of awkward with my arm in a sling.

The North Koreans had caused some damage, not as much as they would have liked to, but damage none the less.

It looked worse than it was.

In my opinion the sling was highly unnecessary. It had been getting in the way all day. Now it was just plain irritating. I wanted nothing more than to rip the damn thing off.

Pepper looked concerned.

"What?" I asked knowing exactly what her issue was.

She was about to open her mouth to tell me but I saved her the trouble and said it for her.

"You still want me to cancel," I stated.

"Tony, you're in no state to be having a meeting now. You need to rest." She tried to sound professional but it never really worked when she used my first name, it kind of took the edge off.

"Pepper, I've been having meetings all day and I coped with those just fine. It's too late to cancel now anyway," I told her while trying not to set the sling on fire, kind of hoping that it would. At least then I wouldn't have to wear it. "Now, can you stop worrying and come and help me with this?"

"Why are you lighting candles anyway. Is there a problem with the lights?" she asked.

I didn't answer. She didn't know about my plans for tonight.

She sighed.

"Forget it," I said, "I'll just take this damn thing off."

She shot me a look. "Tony," she said in a warning voice.

I ignored her.

She sighed again.

"Anyway, what kind of time is this to be having a meeting?"

"I did tell you this morning," I said, trying to get my arm out of the sling.

"At what point? When I was trying to get the shrapnel out of your arm or when I was cleaning up your neck?"

"Arm," I muttered, taking the sling off over my head.

She shook her head. "You are incorrigible."

I smiled holding out the sling for her to take. "I know."

"Sir, I believe the caterers have arrived," Jarvis informed us.

Pepper looked confused, "Caterers?" she looked at me "Tony?"

"Yeah, could you go deal with that please?"

She didn't look happy, but didn't say anything and headed off in the right direction. I carried on lighting the candles.

Pepper would figure it out soon enough.

I thought the roses had been a big enough give away, but that seemed to have passed her by.

The wine was already on the table. I got a couple of glasses from the cabinet and set them down.

_How can she resist this?_

Pepper came back up , her best professional smile on her face. The caterers followed behind her.

"Here?" they asked, nearing the table.

"Yeah, right there," I replied.

Pepper gave me a dirty look, her back to the caterers. I returned it with a smile.

She came to stand next to me by the sofa.

"A candle lit dinner for two. And here was me worrying about you having a meeting."

"See, no need to worry," I told her.

"Oh, I think there is." She lowered her voice. "Tony you're injured, how can you even think about having sex?"

I laughed. "Incorrigible remember?"

She sighed.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected a tiger to change its stripes." She walked away. She both sounded and looked disappointed, and that took me by surprise.

"Pepper?" I followed her to the other side of the room. "Miss Potts?"

She paused on the far side of the room probably realising that she wasn't going to be able to get rid of me just like that. I suppose she thought it was worth a try.

"Yes, Mr Stark." She didn't look happy, but very professional. That was for my benefit.

I smiled. I couldn't help it. She thought that she could get out of this just by being all professional.

Maybe it was a female thing. Maria had tried doing the exact same thing before; instead of addressing the issue head on, she tried to get round it by being all professional. In Maria's case though, she'd tried both. I had to give her credit for that.

"You don't really think you're getting out of this that easily, do you?"

She looked at me solemnly

"I hope you have a nice evening, Mr. Stark."

"Only nice?"

I expected, or at least hoped for a reply to that but she turned away and headed towards the exit.

"Pepper," I said reaching out for her with the wrong arm. A burning pain invaded the whole of my arm.

"Shit."

Pepper turned around, concern showing clearly on her face.

"Tony, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm great, never been better," I managed to get out through gritted teeth, clutching my arm. I hadn't meant the sarcasm to show so thick.

"Put the sling back on, Tony," she told me on that 'matter-of-fact' voice that she was so good at. "I'll go and get you some more painkillers."

"Don't need it," I told her, struggling through the pain, though I was starting to get it under control. I wasn't putting that bloody thing back on.

She shook her head and sighed, but I knew that she'd been anticipating this battle. I didn't yield easily, particularly if didn't I see the sense in what was being asked of me. In this case, there was none. She had her work cut out.

She tried reasoning with me.

"Tony, if nothing else, it will remind you not to use that arm."

"Pepper, trust me, I don't think I'll be forgetting anytime soon. Anyway, it doesn't hurt anymore." The last was a blatant lie. Maybe I was just too macho to admit being in pain, maybe I just didn't want to give her a leg to stand on. Perhaps a little of both.

"So, you don't want any painkillers then?" she challenged.

I did, and she knew it, but I could hardly say yes now.

"Of course not."

"Put the sling back on, Tony."

I looked at her for a little while and then smiled.

"Only if you tell me what before was about."

She looked down at her feet.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Stark." Already her cheeks were burning red.

She was a reliable and trustworthy PA, but when it came to lying, Miss Pepper Potts was hopeless.

I fought the urge to laugh and instead said, "Please don't insult my intelligence, Miss Potts."

I tried to catch her gaze but she was careful to avoid my eyes.

"Put the sling back on, Tony," she said again. She tried to sound authoritative, but the fact that she couldn't look me in the eye kind of killed it.

"You know the score Pepper," I told her. "So, what's it gonna be?"

She glanced over to where the caterers had laid out the food and I followed her gaze.

They seemed to be finished, probably waiting for a good time to interrupt us.

I admired my work from the side of the room. The soft glow of the candle light filled the room and the roses served the dual purpose of scenting the room and looking pretty. I'd go pick out a rose for Maria later. I had the necklace that she'd previously refused to accept in my pocket. All I needed now was music. Probably some soft jazz.

Who says I can't do old fashioned romance when I want to?

Pepper ignored my question and started towards the men at the table but I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. I made sure I used the uninjured arm this time. See, I learn quick. They don't call me a genius for nothing.

"We'll talk later, Tony," she said, quietly enough that only I could hear her. Satisfied with that proposal, I let her go and deal with the caterers.

By the time she came back from showing the caterers out, I was nicely settled and waiting for her on the sofa. I patted the space beside me as Pepper walked in the room and she came to sit next to me, with a rather reluctant look on her face.

"So?" I asked.

She looked down and was silent for a while. I was just about to say something when she took a deep breath, looked me right in the eye and asked me "Tony, what are you doing?"

I wasn't expecting a question and it threw me a little. I wasn't sure I knew exactly what it was she was asking.

"What is all this? The candles, the flowers, the dinner."

"You're doing it again," I said.

"Doing what?" she asked.

This one I could answer. "Asking questions that you already know the answers to."

"But Tony I just... I just don't understand."

"Don't understand what exactly?"

"You. You just- when you got back- you said that you- I just thought," she seemed to be having problems gathering her thoughts. Eventually she gave up. "Just forget it. This is a stupid idea."

She stood up as if to leave.

"Come on Pepper. What is it?" I stood up next to her.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. You don't get that worked up over nothing."

"I'm not worked up."

I only had to smile in response to that.

"It's not important, Tony."

"Well I want to know, and you said you'd tell me. I guess I could just take the sling back off..."

That made her reconsider.

"You want to know?"

I smiled. "Yes, I want to know"

"Are you sure? Are you sure you really want to know?"

"I really, really want to know."

"You want to know what I think?"

"I want to exactly what you think."

"OK."

"OK."

"I think..." she stopped.

"Mmmhmm."

"I think that you are a complete and utter bastard."

I smiled. "Miss Potts, you're not jealous, are you?"

She looked shocked, angry and a little embarrassed all at the same time and then she slapped me.

I really didn't see _that _coming. Maria had probably been giving her tips over the phone.

I stood there, not saying anything, just dazed for a few seconds.

Pepper was looking shocked as if _she _was the one who'd just been slapped.

After a few seconds she managed to speak. "Mr Stark, I am _so _sorry. That was really unprofessional."

"Yeah," I agreed."I could always fire you if you think that-"

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Stark." She sighed, "I just think that what you're doing is...wrong."

"Explain," I demanded, sitting back down on the sofa.

"Promise you won't fire me."

"Scouts honour."

She came and sat back down next to me.

"Remember when you came back home and you said you were going to be more responsible?"

"Uh huh," I replied.

She gave me a look then.

"What? What's not responsible about this?"

"Have you ever heard the saying don't mix business with pleasure?"

"Yeah. It's a load of bull."

"No, Tony. It's called knowing the boundaries."

"I know the boundaries and the boundaries know me and we happen to have a mutual understanding that it's OK when I cross the boundaries. It's my _job _to cross the boundaries. Crossing the boundaries is what I do."

"Don't play with me, Tony."

"I'm not playing...but if you want to play..." I leaned into her. I couldn't help flirting with her. I hadn't had sex for a long time. I was a desperate man and she was a very attractive woman.

"Tony," she said in that warning voice.

I pulled back "Sorry."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about. You came back and told me that you were a changed man and I thought you were. You stopped with the women and the drinking and I thought I saw a different side to you Tony, but how long did that last?"

"Pepper-"

"And I know I shouldn't care how you live your life but you told me that, or at least I thought that you, I just-"

"You thought I wanted you," I finished.

She just looked down again.

"I did Pepper, but you rejected me remember?"

"Well, you got over me pretty quick."

"Not as quick as you were over me." She looked down at the ground again and I realised I was straying into territory that I really didn't want to stray into. Did she want me? Did I want her?

I knew the answer to the second one now. I didn't want her like _that._ Not anymore. Maybe I never did. I just wanted someone to love and she was there. I did love her, but only as a friend.

If she wanted me, then that screwed things up.

"So, you're just going back to sleeping around?"

"Hey!" I protested, "What is so wrong with sex? I like it. It's not a crime. I'm living life to the full. Nothing wrong with that. Besides, I've been practically celibate for the past few weeks."

"Yeah, just because you're waiting around for your crown fuck."

"You think that's all I want?"

"Well, why else are you doing this, Tony? She hates you. Why can't you just leave her alone?"

"She doesn't hate me. Now answer the question."

"Tony, come on. Is it just the fact that you can't have her that makes her attractive?"

"Do you think all I want is sex?"

"Well, why else would you do all this for her?"

"Well why else would a man prepare a candle lit dinner for a two?"

She met my eyes.

"No," she said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"What you're in-"

I cut her off. "I'm just saying."

"Are you or aren't you? It's important Tony."

I shrugged.

"Well you won't win her over like this. She's a person Tony. You have to treat her with respect. You have to treat the _boundaries _with respect."

"You want me to get rid of the candles, don't you?"

She nodded. "And the food and the flowers. It's a meeting Tony. If you treat it as a meeting and nothing more you'll earn some of her respect."

I sighed and got up and started clearing the things away.

"Does this mean that you-" she stopped. For the first time things were starting to feel awkward. "Is it OK for me to go now, Mr. Stark?"

I nodded, thankful that she said it. "I'll see you tomorrow Pepper."

"Goodnight, Mr. Stark."


	41. Chapter 41

_**I appologise in advance for the crapiness of this chapter. I sort of dug myself a hole with where I **_**_left it last time. The next chapter will be better I promise, just bear with me._**

**_Also, feel free to go look at my blog. The link's on my profile._**

**_Cheers guys._**

**_

* * *

  
_**

I'd forgotten how beautiful Tony's house looked from the outside. All of a sudden it seemed like heaven, and Tony the angel inside who would rescue me.

_Tony? An Angel?_

Even in the pain I was in, that seemed funny. I smiled and then wished I hadn't. Even that hurt.

I took a breath and felt something in my chest give. That couldn't be good, but luckily I couldn't feel it. If it was causing me pain I couldn't notice it under the rest of it.

It seemed my head and my lungs were competing to put me in as much pain as possible.

At the moment the lungs were winning, just.

I'd never seen so much blood in my life.

Not _real _blood anyway.

I was thankful of the dark

I was in scared,in absolute agony and struggling to stay conscious. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I was close to Tony's house.

It would be a waste to give up now.

I dragged myself along, taking shallow breaths- it hurt less.

I was so close to the house. The camera's _had _to have picked me up by now. Surely.

I wondered if I'd be heard if I shouted. I wasn't sure I could fight to stay conscious before I got there.

I went to take a breath but my lungs burned and I couldn't. I coughed and thick red liquid came out.

It was only a few feet to the front door now.

I _had _to make it.

I wiped blood away from my mouth and some out of my eye and forced myself to stand.

Everything spun.

Everything burned.

I couldn't breath.

I couldn't make sense of what I was seeing.

I took a clumsy step and fell against something hard.

The front door.

It opened.

"Oh my God." It was a womans voice.

I'd made it.

It went black.


	42. Chapter 42 Tony

**_Hiya guys. My excuse for the wait this time is filming. OK, I guess not the actual filming but organising it. If any of you are interested in watching the outtakes just head over to youtube and search: SatinBeige Adolescence outtakes ,and click the first video._**

**_I hope the chapter's worth the wait. I had a little trouble getting into character and its still not really there but let me know what you think. _**

**_I love you guys. Cheers!_**

* * *

After I'd cleared away and called Maria I realised for the first time in months just how frustrated I was, and not just sexually.

I'd been chasing her for longer than I realised. What if it all equated to nothing? I couldn't ever be satisfied if I gave up on her though, but chasing her was going to drive me insane. It was just so frustrating.

I'd been celibate the past few months, which, for me, was unusual. It hadn't been a conscious decision, I just hadn't wanted anyone except Maria, and even when things did start to feel uncomfortable even considering sleeping with anyone other than her just felt...wrong.

It was crazy. After years of having as much sex as I could, I was saving myself up for someone. Was it too late to get a purity ring? Not that I was anything like 'pure'. Do you get a second chance with those things? I'd have to give the Jonas brothers a call.

The more I thought about it, the more restless I became. Not having sex for so long for me was just unnatural. I'd only just realised how much I missed it, how much I _wanted _it, but going down that thought process now was probably a bad idea. I was going to have to be all professional with Maria. It was hard enough for me to restrain myself as it was, but turning up to the meeting fully pumped would be an awful idea.

I sighed, stopped pacing the room and sat down on the couch.

I had no idea how long it would take Maria to get here, but I hoped it would be soon. I couldn't bring myself to do anything productive with the time I had waiting. I didn't want to do anything except for to see her. I felt strangely excited, anxious, almost nervous. Not in the way I usually was.

She had more power over me than I'd initially realised. I wasn't sure if that was part of why I found her attractive or if it was _because_ I found attractive.

I wanted so much more than just sex this time. I hadn't ever felt that way about any woman except perhaps Pepper. That gave her _a lot _of control over me. More than I realised and more than she realised.

It used to be that I'd never understood the appeal of a family; marriage, children, responsibility, emotional commitment, it just wasn't for me, but now I wanted it all. I guess it really was just about finding the right person.

I was crazy about her ,I couldn't deny it, and further more I didn't want to. I didn't want to be the man with everything and yet nothing. I wanted to find someone special to share my life with and I was pretty sure I'd found her, if she'd have me. I had my work cut out for me and I'd only just realised just how much. The subconscious thought that Maria might be 'the one', had always been there but Pepper had only just brought it to my full attention how important this really was.

Thank God for Pepper.

I closed my eyes, resting my head on the couch and sighed again thinking about how long I'd have to go without sex.

It would to take months to build up any sort of trust with her and the a few months after that to convince her that us being a couple would be the best thing that ever happened to her and probably months after that until I could even _contemplate _us having any sort of sexual activity. It crossed my mind that perhaps she was one of those girls who didn't believe in sex before marriage.

_Fuck it! This could be years._

Maybe it would get easier.

_Maybe not._

But it had to be worth it otherwise I wouldn't even be considering putting myself through that kind of torture.

Well you know what they say. Love conquers all.

_Oh Maria, you have no idea._

I was probably getting ahead of myself. She probably wanted nothing to do with me. She might block me out of her life completely after she'd finished this film. She had that other guy, didn't she?

It didn't matter. I wouldn't give up. I _couldn't_ give up, but it just meant there was more chance I'd pursue her in vain.

And then what?

Back to my old ways? Wallow in heart break and self pity? Find someone else? Would anyone else even compare?

It was not a nice thought.

Jarvis broke the silence.

"Sir, Miss Edwards condition is critical. She requires urgent medical assistance. Should I dial for help?"

"What? Where is she?"

"She's downstairs. Miss Potts-"

Jarvis was cut off by Pepper's voice calling "Tony!"

She sounded frantic which was a bad sign. When Pepper got frantic then things were bad, but what was this about Maria? Were the two things related. "Tony!" I rushed downstairs still not really understanding what was going on.

"Pepper what is it?" I asked, approaching her. She was standing by the open front door looking very pale and pointing down at the ground.

I looked down.

A body, laying on the floor.

_Oh my God._

It was Maria.

It only took a few seconds for autopilot to kick in. If it was someone else laying there I would have been able to think and assess things properly but it wasn't someone else and I didn't want to think about it so I just let autopilot kick in.

I picked her up as carefully as I could, not that it really mattered, she was unconscious.

Pepper just stood back as I walked past carrying Maria upstairs.

She was still in shock. So was I.

Some people go into autopilot when they're in shock, others just freeze.

I was one of the ones who went into autopilot. Pepper was not. Luckily it took a lot to shock her and she recovered pretty quickly.

She followed me to the workshop and after few seconds asked me, "Can I do anything to help?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Get me some bandages," I told her. "And Jarvis, call an ambulance."

"Certainly, sir."

I put Maria down on the operating table and checked her vitals. Again on autopilot.

All I could think about was the amount of blood.

She was covered in it.

I started looking for the main source of bleeding and found it to be her head. Pepper came back and handed me a bandage which I started to wrap around her head to slow the bleeding.

I checked her heart rate again and then her breathing.

"She's not breathing," I stated.

I opened her mouth and started breathing for her.

I was _still _on autopilot. I was still on autopilot until she spluttered into my mouth and slowly opened her eyes.

It was only then that it really hit me. This wasn't just anybody. This was Maria.

_My_ Maria.

My already raised heart rate increased further.

I was angry. Who did this to her? Why?

But as soon as her eyes were open those feelings were cast aside for the time being. I just wanted her, _needed_ her to be OK.

She looked up at me but her eyes couldn't seem to focus.

"Tony?" She breathed it as if even whispering was too difficult.

"Maria."

"I'm sorry." Again it was barely even a whisper.

"It's OK," I said to her softly. I didn't know what she was sorry for but whatever it was, it was OK.

She still seemed to be having trouble focusing. She went to move and I guessed she was going to try and sit up.

"Don't," I tried to warn her, but her body got there first.

She groaned in pain and winced, one shaking hand trying to get to her head.

I stopped her and took her hand in mine, gently rubbing circles into her palm with my thumb.

She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Maria, stay with me. An ambulance is on it's way, just stay with me."

I needed to stop her from slipping back into unconsciousness again.

Her eyes were starting to close and a tear ran down her cheek.

"Maria, open your eyes. I need you to stay with me."

"I can't."

"Yes you can. Come on Maria. Can you squeeze my hand?"

She squeezed it with her shaking hand for a moment before her grip loosened again.

"Maria." She didn't respond. "Maria, say something."

I went to check her pulse again and moaned softly as I put my fingers to her neck.

"Come on Maria. The ambulance has to got be close by now. Just stay with me."

"I can't."

"Just try for me Maria. Can you do that? Maria?"

"Yeah," it came out through gritted teeth. Her eyes were closed but her hand was

holding mine tightly. She was shaking.

"It might help, Sir, if you ask her questions," Jarvis suggested.

I knew that's what you were supposed to do to keep people conscious but it was more difficult trying to think about how to keep someone conscious when emotions get caught up in it all.

What if I lost her and I never got to show her how I really felt about her?

I pushed the thought aside. There was one question that I really wanted to know the answer to.

"Maria, what happened? Who did this to you?"

"Tony!" came Pepper's voice.

"Well it's a question isn't it? I swear I'll find them. I will hunt them down and I will kill them." I could hear the malevolence in my voice.

Pepper probably would have said something if it wasn't for the sirens we heard at that exact moment. She rushed out of the workshop and upstairs to get the door.

I put my hand on Maria's face, stroking her cheek. "Everything is going to be OK, I swear. I'll make sure everything's OK." I don't know whether I was saying it to reassure her, or myself.

"Yeah," she agreed with me and then drifted off into unconsciousness again.

"Maria. Maria, come on."

The ambulance was waiting. It would be quicker if I took her myself but I didn't want to move her again in case I did more damage than good.

"Maria, please," I whispered shaking her gently. "You have to pull through this, there's something I have to tell you."

I could hear the paramedics running down the stairs. Pepper opened the door for them.

I kissed her forehead not caring about the blood before moving out of the way and letting the paramedics do their job.

They had her on the stretcher and were ready to move her upstairs. I went to follow were taking her into the ambulance when I heard someone say, "She's not breathing and I'm getting a very weak pulse."

"Get the oxygen mask on her."

"Can I go with her?" I asked.

"Family?" the man asked."I'm her cousin."

"OK, fine just hurry up and get in."

I wasn't used to be talked to like that, being told what to do, but I was glad.

He closed the door and the ambulance set off.


	43. Chapter 43 Maria

**_Hi people. My excuse for not updating in so long this time is NaNoWriMo. _**

**_50000 words in one month. And I did it!!! Although novel isn't finished yet... I'm working on it._**

**_ Anyone else crazy enough to give it a go? If you were, let me know how you got on._**

**_Anyway, I kind of just whacked out this chapter in half an hour while I was feeling high on winning, so it might be a little rough._**

**_Let me know what you think and thanyou so much to all of you who left reviews last time. I love hearing from you awesome people!_**

* * *

"Maria. Maria, open your eyes." I recognised that voice. As if I would ever forget it.

I opened them and there he was standing in front of me, just the way I remembered him.

There was darkness and a ray of light. He was standing in the direction the light was coming in. I was in the darkness.

"Dad?"

I reached out to touch him but he moved away.

"They're trying to resuscitate you," he told me. "Listen."

I could hear people talking, voices echoing around me form out of nowhere. Doctors I guessed.

"We're losing her."

"We need to get her straight into surgery."

Was that me they were talking about?

"Yes," he said in answer to my thoughts.

"So I'm not dead?" I asked.

"No. You're not dead Maria. Were you hoping you would be?"

I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it again not knowing what to say. Yes? No? I didn't even know so I told him one thing I did know.

"Daddy, I miss you."

I stepped towards him and he stepped away again. I so wanted to touch him, to hug him.

I looked at him desperately.

"Maria, sweetheart, you have a very big decision to make."

"What?" I asked, but I already knew what it was.

"To carry on fighting, or to give up now."

I looked at him. He was asking me to chose life or death, but it was more than that. He was asking me to chose him or what he wanted for me.

"I don't want to go back." I said. Not now I knew he was here. How could I go back after seeing him again, after knowing he was here and knowing I could stay here with him.

He sighed. "Maria. It's not my decision and only you can make it but what about all the things you have waiting for you?"

"What things?" I asked, "I have everything I want right here."

"Maria. You have no idea. You have no idea what is waiting for you. So many beautiful things. So many things you'll never get to do, so many things you will never get to feel or know. _So_ many beautiful things."

As he said that a million different things flashed through my mind. Lilly. Poppy. I hadn't forgiven them yet but I wanted to. My unfinished film. Marcus. Did I love him? Was I _in _love with him?Tony. How did I feel about him? Was it really just physical attraction? Did it matter? So many emotions that I couldn't make sense of. Then dreams and fantasies. Making love for the first time. Marriage. Starting a family. Winning an Oscar.

But did any of it matter?

I was still going to die at the end of the day?

And what would it be worth then?

Why not save myself the waiting?

Why not just have what I really wanted?

"I'll always be here waiting for you sweetheart," Dad told me.

I reached out to touch him yet again, but he moved away yet again, shaking his head.

"Daddy, please," I begged. I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes.

"There will be other times," he said.

"You want me to go don't you?"

"I want you to be happy," he told me. "I want you to get everything you can out of life, you've worked so hard Maria and look at all you've done, and there's still more."

"But it doesn't _mean _anything!" I shouted through the tears. "You're not there Dad! I don't _have _anyone. I don't _want _any of it if I can stay with you."

"Maria, sweetheart, I will be here for you and when you are ready-"

"I am ready."

He sighed and looked sad. "You're sure?"

I stood there staring at him for a few seconds. No, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure at all. I had fought so hard for everything I had and had done. To get to uni, to get to California, to break in to the film industry, to live.

There was more, he was right. I hadn't lived my life yet. There were other things. Other things I still had to give. Other things I still had to experience.

Maybe what I wanted the most was Dad, but he had helped me so much to get me where I was, put up with so much crap from my mother to try and give me some sort of stable environment to grow up in to help me do well. That couldn't all go to waste. I had to live. I had to try and be happy. If not for me, for my Dad. What kind of daughter would I be if I did that? If I let him down by staying then I couldn't stay despite however much I wanted to.

"If I chose to stay will you be disappointed in me?"

"I will never be disappointed in you, Maria. I will always, _always_ love you."

I was torn in two.

I felt like I'd proved myself in life. I had done it. The shy little girl form Harlem now a Hollywood film director.

That was enough.

That was enough when I could stay with Dad forever.

Wasn't it?

They were losing me on the operating table, almost giving up because I had made my decision. It was down to me not them.

I was ready to choose.


	44. Chapter 44 Tony

_**Hi. I know it's been a while, but I thought I'd try to update for Christmas, so here it is, a little present from me to you guys. **_

_**It's not the most uplifting chapter I'll admit and hopefully I don't have you yelling at the computer in dispair (OK fine,maybe that is what I'm hoping for I'll admit it... ) but leave a review, give me your response, outraged or otherwise. **_

_**Please, Please Please leave a review if you possibly can. Tis the season of good will and all that.**_

_**It's coming to the end of the year so now I just want to say thanks to you guys.**_

_**Thanyou for putting up with awful speeling and punctuation and grammar, and for wading on through all the pointless scenes and never ending chapter, and for generally bearing with me.**_

_**Thankyou to anyone who has ever left a review or favourited, story alerted etc and especially to those of you who review regularly (Yes, you know who you are). You guys really make my day. So thankyou for being so awesome.**_

_**I wish you a very Happy Christmas, and in case I don't drop a line before the 30th, Happy New Year!**_

* * *

I was so scared, so terrified that I was losing her. I knew they were doing their best just to keep her alive, but I wanted to yell at them to try harder.

They wanted to get her into surgery straight away so I stayed at her side for as long as I could while they rushed her through the hospital. When we reached a set of double doors, they told me that I couldn't go any further. They were taking her into the operating theatre.

"I'm not leaving her," I told the paramedic, who I'd told I was Maria's cousin.

"You have to," he told me, wheeling her into theatre.

"No. I refuse to leave her," I said following them through the double doors they'd asked me not to go through.

I didn't care what the hospital policies, rules and regulations were. If they wanted me out they'd have to do it by force. They'd have to drag me out. I absolutely categorically knew that I would not go willing. I was not going to leave Maria now. I couldn't possibly. I had to know what was going on.

"And we're going to move her in 3, 2, 1," said the paramedic, who then moved Maria from the trolley onto the operating table with a group of other medical staff.

They started talking about Maria's condition while preparing to operate on her.  
Everything seemed so hectic and it made me feel so uncomfortably anxious. I hated being left in the dark as it was, but when I was being left in the dark about the condition of the woman who I had just realised I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, it was almost unbearable.

I tried to listen out to their jargon, able to make sense of some, but not all of it. They spoke too quickly and I couldn't infer anything from the tones they were using. Just so matter of fact.

"What is he doing in the room?" I heard the surgeon, presumably, ask.

"Patient's cousin," I heard the paramedic say.

"He shouldn't be in here. Get rid of him."

None of them had looked up at me long enough to recognise me, or perhaps they just didn't care. It was irritating. It _might_ have saved me a whole lot of trouble, but I suppose it was a good thing. They had an incredibly important job to do now, and their focus should be on that, and that alone. The job they were about to do was one of the most important jobs they would ever do in their lives, from my perspective.

"Sir, you have to leave now," the paramedic told me.

I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but provoking him would probably only make him more determined to get me out of the room.

"I can't," I stated.

"You can, Sir, and you will, or I'll have to call security. Now, it'd much better for everyone if you just-"

It was the first time that I had dragged my eyes away from Maria as she laid on the operating table, I saw that they were now using various instruments to do God knows what to her. Hopefully, saving her.

I looked the paramedic straight in the eye and said, "Listen. I love her. I cannot leave her, OK. I know it's hospital policy, but make an exception. This woman is the woman I want to love and hold and make happy for the rest of my life and I cannot leave her side until I know that she knows that."

The man looked a little startled. Perhaps it was because he thought Maria and I were cousins, that was what I had told him after all, and despite the fact that it was in fact legal for cousins to marry, it was still not accepted by many people, or at least not expected.

"Look Sir, I know you're probably very anxious and upset-" he began.

"Upset? I'm fucking furious! Now, do not tell me that I have to leave this-"

I stopped then.

I stopped and it felt for a second like my whole world had.

I could see the medical team were talking hurriedly, frantically to each other, and I knew that the paramedic was talking to me, probably threatening to call security, but I could not hear them.

I could not hear anything but one sound.

The single most horrible sound that I had ever heard in my life.

The sound of a heart monitor that was not picking up a heart beat.

I heard the paramedic call security as he made his way back over to the table and I did nothing to stop him.

The noise had paralyzed me.

There was no pulse.

Her heart had stopped beating.

They were using the defibrillator on her.

"Charging at 200, stand clear."

No response.

"Charging at 300. Stand clear."

Still no response.

"Charging at 320. Stand clear."

Nothing.  
No heartbeat.  
Just the flat line on the monitor.

She wasn't dead. She couldn't be. They weren't trying hard enough. They had to get her heart beating again.  
They had to.  
I couldn't lose her.  
Not yet.  
Not like this.

It was like a nightmare.  
Worse than a nightmare.  
Because I knew.

I knew this was real.

"Maria," I yelled, walking over. They tried to hold me back, still trying to jump start her heart.  
"Maria, please." I knew she couldn't hear me but I couldn't help myself.  
"Maria, please don't leave me. Don't-" I couldn't even get words out anymore. My face was wet. I must have been crying. "Don't leave me." I felt like I was suffocating.

Security came then.

"Don't." It wasn't a shout, barely a whisper as security dragged me away. I couldn't find it in me to put up a fight.

Her heart had stopped.

That was it.

She was gone.

Dead.

I didn't believe they would get her back.  
I wanted to, but I couldn't.  
It felt like karma, for me screwing up.

"Why her?" I thought as they dragged me away. "Anyone but her, it could have been anyone but her." But that was exactly how karma worked.

There was no fight left in me.

She had been my fire.  
Now, there was nothing.  
No drive.  
No motivation.  
I wouldn't have missed her if I'd never met her.  
But I had and she'd been the best thing to ever happen to me.  
Just to have her alive would have been enough. Even if she wouldn't let me love her.  
But now she was gone.  
I didn't care what happened to me now.  
I didn't care if I died now.  
If I was back in that cave in Afghanistan now, I would have just let them kill me.  
What did I have?  
I was a man with money, with intelligence, with charisma.  
But without love.  
And, without love, I had nothing.  
Without love, I was nothing.  
Without Maria, I didn't want to be anything.  
My heart ached, and I finally understood what it meant to have a broken heart.  
I looked down at the ground, feeling tears flowing freely down my face, rolling off my cheeks, and not caring. Not caring about anything except the fact that I'd lost her.  
"Tony," I heard Peppers voice. "Tony."  
I didn't look up.  
"Wait. He's with me."  
The men let go of me, and Pepper came over, without a word wrapping her arms around me.

"She's dead," I said.  
"She'll be OK," she to me softly, letting me go.  
I shook my head. She had no idea.  
"The doctors know what they're doing and-"  
"She's dead," I told her again.  
"Come on Tony, we have to be positive, she-"  
"She's dead," I almost shouted. "I was there. Her heart stopped beating, and they- they tried but they-"  
I felt like I was choking on the words.  
I was there.  
I watched her die.  
Pepper reached out to touch me but I pushed her away.  
I didn't want her to touch me, or comfort me, or tell me that it was OK.  
Because it wasn't.  
And it wouldn't be.

Ever.

I left, making sure she couldn't catch up with me.  
I wanted to shout and scream.  
I wanted to hurt somebody.  
I wanted to make somebody pay.

But more than anything, I wanted her back.


	45. Chapter 45 Maria

**_FINALLY!!!! Chapter 45. I was wondering what I was going to do with this. Sort of just typed it out between physics and chemistry homework, when I was on a roll. Sent it off to Steph(todrownandburn) to be edited and VOILA! Here we have it. _**

**_After reading and reviewing(as if I need to mention it, goes without saying right?) if you have a little time why don't you head on over to my profile page and follow the link to my youtube page to have a little listen to the song I wrote about Robert Downey Jr. Might make you SMILE!_**

**_Gosh I don't know why I'm so happy tonight. Perhaps I'm just anticipating all the awesome reviews I'm going to get from my exceedingly awesome reviewers. You won't let me down will ya guys?_**

**_Guys?_**

**_(UH OH I hope they didn't all fall asleep while waiting for this chapter... )_**

**_Forgive me. This is a bit of a rubbish authors note. The stuff you're looking for is below._**

**_*COUGH* Review *COUGH*_**

* * *

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die.

It's true.

At least it was for me.

In a second, it seemed it all played out for me. My whole life. Things I had forgotten happened. People I had forgotten existed.

In just a second, for just a second, I got it all back.

My whole life.

Strange things stood out. A balance of good and bad.

It was the important things that I'd gone over a thousand times before in my mind that were glossed over, like getting out of Harlem, getting to California, making it in the film industry, things I'd gone over a thousand times in my mind before. Little things like conversations I'd overheard when I was very young, but only looking back on them now could I make sense of them, fights I'd gotten into when I was younger, men who had asked me to call them but I never had, and the charm for my charm bracelet that I'd found amoung my Dad's things when he'd died- I still didn't know when he was going to give it to me, or what for, those things really stood out.

For a second, I relived making every major desicion I'd ever had to make in my life and some not so important ones stupid and the sensible alike.

But there wasn't enough time to regret, just relive for a second.

I saw the faces of everyone I loved; my Dad, my friends back home in Harlem, Lilly, Poppy, Marcus, and despite it all my sister Alicia, and my mother. Even Tony's face was there.

There wasn't time to dispute it, just to see. No point in arguing. It was what it was.

What did it matter now?

I relived it all and it felt finished.

I felt finished.

Like this was how it was supposed to be. This was how things would come to a close.

But there was one last thought.

I'd thought I'd never seen as much real blood in my life as I had today.

But I remembered just for a second that I had, a long time ago, as a very young child,once.

_Waiting in the kitchen.  
_

_Blood all over my hands, and my arms, and my feet.  
_

_So much blood.  
_

_I can hear them in the other room.  
_

_My mother and another man, making noises like animals. They always do when he's round.  
_

_I don't know why.  
_

_She told me not to move from the kitchen, not to disturb her, so I wait.  
_

_Glass all over the floor.  
_

_Dropped a glass.  
_

_I tried to clear it away.  
_

_Fell off the chair while trying to get down.  
_

_On to the glass.  
_

_And now there is so much blood.  
_

_She will be angry.  
_

_I feel sick.  
_

_I feel scared.  
_

_I feel like I'm going to pass out.  
_

_I wish Daddy was back from work..  
_

_I sit on the kitchen floor, trying not to cry, because only babies cry. That is what Alicia tells me.  
_

_She is at school now.  
_

_Daddy says I will like school.  
_

_Alicia says school is stupid.  
_

_I don't know who to believe. I want to believe Daddy, but why would Alicia lie? Why would either of them lie?  
_

_I don't know.  
_

_I just know I want Daddy to come back now.  
_

_He could make it all better.  
_

_I don't know what to do, so I just wait.  
_

_I hear the front door click open. The man is leaving, so my mother will come in here soon.  
_

_I'm so scared.  
_

_My head spins and I put my hand down on the floor to balance myself, on to some glass.  
_

_Some silent tears fall down my cheeks, and I hold my breath trying not to make any sound at all.  
_

_I wait, anticipating the door to swing open and the shouting to begin.  
_

_She walks in calling my name at first not seeing me as I am sitting on the floor not at the table where she left me.  
_

_I don't say anything, but she walks round and see's me on the floor.  
_

_She looks at me for a moment before the shouting begins.  
_

_First in English then as she gets angry, shouting inSpanish.  
_

_"I'm sorry," I say, my bottom lip trembling but still trying desperately not to cry.  
_

_"Always you are sorry, Maria. Well, I'm sick of hearing it." _

_She grabs one of my bloody arms, still sore from the cuts from the glass. I stop myself from yelling out in pain as she marches me to the sink, glass still impaling my feet. She roughly cleans my arms and feet with a cloth and water that's too hot for my skin.  
_

_I can't help the tears rolling down my face.  
_

_She shoves me into the shower still fully clothed and switches it on, all the way, cold water spraying out, ignoring my involuntary yelp.  
_

_The water is red.  
_

_I wait until the water is turned off and get out of the shower, shivering, clothes soaking wet.  
_

_"Now go. I don't want to see you anymore."  
_

_I run as fast as I can to the bedroom despite the cuts on my feet causing me agony. I take off the wet clothes and find the only other thing I can find to put on, my pajamas. _

_I crawl into my bed,hair still soaking wet,arms still bleeding, still shivering from the cold, finally letting myslef go and crying.  
_

_I only wish Daddy was back.  
_

I won't have to wish anymore.

Ever again.

One last plea the Earthly world made to keep me.

"Don't leave me"

The same words I'd sobbed to my Dad.

But he was already gone.

And so was I.

Even God's gift to women couldn't stop me now.

It was too late.

Even if I was in love with him.


	46. Chapter 46 Tony

**_Well guy's, it's been a while hasn't it? Well sorry for the wait. Here it finally is. _**

**_As well as plaesing for reviews I want to ask youu guys for some help. I'm through to the Open Mic UK regional finals and as part of my performance I have to do a cover song so suggestions are welcome. Also feel free to head on over to my youtube page: .com/SatinBeige_**

**_Thanks for bearing with me guys! Leave a review, let me know how you all are and what's been going dwon in my absence._**

* * *

No unauthorised access"

The sign was meaningless as far as I was concerned. Generally such signs didn't apply to me anyway. But now that it did, my response?

_Yeah? _

_Fuck that._

A mixture of my defiant personality and an overwhelming desire to escape.

What from I wasn't sure of?

Reality?

Life?

And where to I was even less sure of.

But for now, just somewhere I could be alone.

I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. Probably Pepper was looking for me. Not probably- undoubtedly. But right now invisibility was preferable.

I pushed open the metal wire fence with the sign on and walked down the alley way at the back of the hospital. There were big industrial bins, probably full of medical waste.

Nice.

And a dead end.

Only to be expected.

But it was quiet.

And no one would think to look here for me.

I sat down by one of the bins, tilting my head back. trying to stop anymore tears falling, looking up at the stars.

I felt nothing.

No pain anymore.

Nothing.

Just numbness.

Calmness.

Clarity.

I didn't have to feel the pain. It was a choice.

If I didn't want to feel I didn't have to.

I wouldn't feel numb forever. I knew it would wear off and when it did it would hurt like hell.

Unless I dealt with it.

No more hurt, or pain, or responsibility.

I could just end it all.

It made sense.

I was a screw up, what did I have to offer anyone? Ironman was just an attempt to clear up a mess I created. No doubt I'd screw that up too. The world was better off without me.

Or maybe I was better off without the world.

A world without Maria was an unbearable thought.

A world without hope.

Part of me knew I wasn't thinking rationally.

Part of me didn't care.

I never really "had" her anyway. She hated me. She wanted nothing to do with me. What difference did it really make in the long run?

So much difference.

_A world without hope._

Maybe I just needed a drink.

Or maybe two.

But I couldn't go out there and put on a brave face. Not yet.

The numbness was starting to wear off, and my heart felt like it was breaking all over again. I was having to make a conscious effort to breathe.

I closed my eyes trying to blink away tears, instead causing them to spill down my cheeks.

Pathetic.

"Just focus on breathing, Tony," I told myself.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

"Nice night, isn't it?"

I opened my eyes, startled, but glad of it. It actually made me feel a little better.

There was a man sitting by some bins a little further over. I hadn't seen him before, he did seem to blend in a little. Like he belonged here.

I thought about answering his question.

Nice night?

Nice?

"I guess in terms of the weather it's nice. The sky is fairly clear and the stars are always spectacular when you can see them, and it's only a half moon so the sky's dark enough to make the stars shine a little brighter,"

I didn't even know what I was saying now the words were just coming out.

" well they don't actually shine any brighter obviously, they just appear to shine brighter because of it being darker and all, but that's beside the point. I guess its probably warm enough to spend the whole night here just star gazing…if …"

I stopped suddenly.

If you had someone to do it with.

No it wasn't a nice night.

It was shit.

Shit.

And that was an understatement.

I slammed my head back against the bins, clenching my fists.

Just breathe Tony.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

"Shit night, huh?"

"Yeah," I told him. "Shit."

"You shouldn't be round here," he told me.

"_You _shouldn't be round here," I replied.

"Yeah, but I'm not Tony Stark, but then I guess you're the guy that always breaks the rules."

So he recognised me. Even in the dark?

So much for being invisible.

"I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it. Well not to scum like me anyway."

I didn't say anything for a while.

"The most incredible woman in the world just died," I told him.

He didn't say anything for a while, then looked at me and said. "I'm sorry."

I sighed. "Yeah well I'm fucking sorry too." I slammed my head back against the bins again.

It hurt but physical pain was the only thing keeping the emotional hurt from taking over.

"You really should stop doing that you know. You're killing off those billion dollar brain cells."

I smiled sarcastically. "That might be better for all concerned."

He looked at me then and I could see even in the darkness his expression change. "Hospitals aren't nice places to be in and suicide doesn't always go to plan, just bear that in mind"

"You think I'm going to try and kill myself?" I asked mildly amused.

"My wife died just over 5 years ago and for just under 5 years now I've been a morphine addict. Loosing her completely broke me. You might think that no one else could possibly know what your going through right now. But trust me, I know. I know how it feels to love someone with everything you are and everything you have and to have them ripped away from you. I know what it feels like to have part of your heart torn out without mercy. I know what it feels like to want to give up, to not want to face life, to face anything without her. I know the sleepless nights, the relentless heart break. I know what it feels like to be on the verge of insanity. And I jumped."

He just stopped then as if he wanted a reaction from me. I wasn't sure what to say.

"You jumped?"

"I should have died from that height. The odds were against me living, and now…" he paused. "You know suicide is a sin? Go straight to hell if you manage it. I guess he saved me from that, but I'm getting punished for it now.

I lost everything after I lost her. All my savings, the house…our daughter. She was the only thing I had left of Lucy-"

He stopped and drew in a deep breath and I realised then that silently he was crying.

"That's some seriously tough shit. I'm sorry, man."

"5 years later here I am, homeless, hanging around hospitals until I can find myself ways to get readmitted. You don't want this."

Well, he was right about that.

If I did it, I'd do it properly.

I knew it wasn't the point the was making, but it was what I had picked up from it.

I was going to end up in hell anyway.

I was startled then by an expected stream of light. I realised a few seconds later it was a door from the hospital being opened. Someone come to take the trash out perhaps.

"Janina," said the stranger I'd just been conversing to.

"Daniel," Janina hissed back. "What are you doing here still. You can't keep hanging around here. I told you." She was a twenty-something small plump Philipino looking woman dressed in blue hospital uniform.

Daniel seemed to disregard her comments. "Janina, meet my new friend,"He threw a glance in my direction then. "Tony this is Janina, and Janina, this is Tony."

She looked over to me surprised. I guessed she hadn't seen me before. "Tony Stark?" She asked slowly, unsurely.

I sighed. "The very same."

"A lot of people are looking for you."

"Yeah well, if you can just not tell the that you've seen me I'd appreciate that."

"But- it's urgent," she insisted.

"It always is."

She didn't say anything in response immediately just glanced at Daniel for a moment and then back to me.

"Sir I very strongly advise you come back in the hospital right now. I'm not allowed to disclose and information but I can tell you this. You really need to get back in there."

I looked at Daniel. He nodded his head. "You need to," he told me, sombre.

So what? They were officially going to tell me she was dead? Was that it|?

Maybe I didn't want to hear it.

_For fucks sake Tony pull yourself together._

I stood up then and tried to put myself into buisiness mode "I am able to use this entrance?"

Janina nodded. "I'll take you in."

"Good luck," Daniel said to me as I stepped towards the door.

I smiled, but it wasn't genuine.

_Luck?_

I didn't need luck.

What I needed was a miracle.

Failing that, I could just pull the arc reactor out.


	47. Chapter 47 Maria

**_It's been a sometime now ... sincerest apologies for that! And what do I have for you?...The shortest chapter ever... Ok yeah, can tell you're not impressed by that. More will follow shortly, I promise! _** _**I'd love to hear from all you guys again! So just drop a review, let me know how it's going. Anyone want to predict an ending? **_

**_Thanks to all my brilliantly amazing reviewers and readers! Look forward to hearing from you ALL *hint hint*  
_**

**_Keep on keeping on guys!  
_**

* * *

Lights. Camera. Action.

It doesn't really work like that.

You can't just cut and redo the scene when it doesn't play out quite right.

You can't edit, can't re script, can't recast.

It_ doesn't_ just fade to black.

And although the credits might be rolling, it's _never_ the end.


	48. Chapter 48 Tony

**_Hey! I got a little something for ya! That's right...here's that chapter I promised! :) - A little chapter from Mr Stark for y'all! Wasn't that speedy?  
_**

**_Hope to hear from ALL of you soon!_**

**_Don't forget to read AND review!_**

**_Thankyou all, you amazingly wonderful people!_**

* * *

The past few days had been exhausting.

I wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating, couldn't do much productive.

But that was OK.

That was fine.

None of that mattered.

I was taking each day as it came.

One agonizingly slow step at a time.

It was the only way to do it.

Only way I could do it.

"Tony I-" It was Pepper's voice. I knew what she was going to say.

"Pepper don't," I interrupted.

"You don't even know what I was going to say,"she protested.

"Probably nothing I want to hear," I told her.

"Actually I was just going to ask-"

"Unless it's how many sugars I want in my coffee it can be put on hold," I informed her.

"When was the last time you had a shower?" she continued.

"And that would be 3 by the way."

"3 what?" she asked.

"Sugars. In my coffee. Thanks."

"Tony, I'm not getting you any more cof-"

"You're not getting me coffee? You're my PA, are you not?"

"Tony, you can't keep running on empty forever."

"Pepper. Are you, or are you not my PA?" I asked her.

"Caffeine is not a substitute for sleep," she told me.

"I'm not going to sit here and argue with you," I told her.

"Or food," she continued. "You need to eat Tony."

"Nurse-"

Pepper sighed "Why are you so difficult?"

"I was asking for a coffee with three sugars. I don't see why that's difficult. Do you see why that's difficult?" I asked turning to the nurse who I'd just called over. "I don't mean to be a pain, but my PA here, seems to have some difficulty with that, so I don't suppose you could-"

"It's fine, I got this," said Pepper standing up, smiling apologetically at the nurse and shaking her head at me.

"You sure?" I asked her. "Because if it's too much trouble for you-"

"I'm sure," she said walking past. "God Tony,you smell horrible. You seriously need to shower."

"I know," I replied as she walked out. "I'm counting on the smell waking her up."

I sighed as she left the room.

"Hey," I said to the sleeping beauty who's bed I was sitting next to. "So I thought I'd let you know that I've rescheduled our meeting. You know, due to 'unforeseen circumstances'. I think that's the phrase they like to use."

I sat just looking at her for a while, all wired up, hooked up to machines, monitors, pumps.

She was beautiful.

So beautiful.

It was something I'd never get over.

Even laying in a hospital bed, like this, I had no doubt in my mind she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever lay eyes on.

"I'm not supposed to be here," I half said, half whispered to her. "Breaking all the rules for you Maria, honey. Truth is I just cannot resist you in that hospital gown, you sexy little minx." I gave a halfhearted laugh then, thinking about what her response would be if she was awake. She wouldn't stand for any of that. And I loved her for it. "They said you might be able to hear me. I thought that might give you incentive to wake up. You know, so you can take another swing at me."

I sighed. "They've been trying to contact your family. Tough job apparently. I, uh, rung the studio for you. Didn't think to ring your friends, uh, Rosie and Daisy or whatever they're called. I should, do that, I guess."

I looked down at my hands, and then back at her. I'd been here three nights now. And three days. Since she'd been admitted. She was lucky to still be alive with the amount of blood she'd lost. Lucky they'd managed to get the brain swelling under control. They had said they couldn't tell the extent of the damage until she woke up, but there was a chance that she'd be ok. Completely ok.

It was just a waiting game now.

And I hated the waiting.

I needed her just to wake up.

I looked at her, just laying there, so peacefully, like she was just in a deep sleep, like everything was OK.

But it wasn't.

She had so many wires going in and out of her. So many machines.

And I didn't even know what was going to happen to her. Didn't know if she was going to be OK. Didn't even know if she'd wake up.

And what if she didn't?

The thought made the breathe stick in my throat, made it hard to even breathe, like it was trying to suffocate me.

I swallowed, trying to push the thought away like I had been doing the last few days, just glad that she was still alive.

_Of course she'll wake up. She has to._

But what if she didn't?

I swallowed again, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall from my burning eyes.

"Maria, honey, you will wake up won't you?" I said, trying to keep my voice strong and steady. I paused, though I'm not sure why. It's not exactly like I was going to get a response.

What I would have given just to hear her gorgeous voice right then.

"See the thing is there's something really important I need you to know, and I really need you to wake up so I can tell you."

I just wanted her to wake up. Needed to her to wake up. Waiting was killing me.

"I know you hate my guts, but I was kind of hoping I could change that. I mean, I know I've been somewhat of a dick to you, but I'm actually not such a bad guy once you get to know me. My PA will tell you, when she's not in such a bad mood with me. And I'm not just saying this to get in your pants. So you're a virgin, whatever, no big deal. I mean, I can deal with not screwing you. But what I can't deal with is...is loosing you. And yeah I know, I never really had you. And I don't really know how to say this," I sighed. "But I'll give it a shot."

I just looked at her for a while.

"Maria. I think you are... nothing short of amazing. You're incredible. You're beautiful and strong and intelligent. And...and perfect. And I need you to wake up because...because I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I just need you to know that. I just need you to know that I- I-"

_That I love you._

And that was the honest to God truth.

I loved her, like I'd never loved anyone before, like I'd never known I could.

I swallowed again. The tears had defied me and were running down my face. "I'm fucking crying for you. Please just wake up," It was little more than a whisper.

I kissed her forehead gently, and heard Peppers voice.

"Tony," she said softly. I thought she was going to tell me off for touching Maria. I knew I shouldn't have.

"I know. I'm sorry."

She shushed me, walking over and putting the coffee down on the side table, then throwing her arms around me, holding me tight.

"What if she doesn't wake up?" I asked her.

"Shh, don't say that. It'll be fine, we just have to stay strong," Pepper tried to reassure me.

All I could do was pray to God she was right.

_Just wake up Maria._

_Please._

_Just wake up.  
_


End file.
